Thievery
by canihavea-soda
Summary: The criminal who once protected worlds only because she had to, returns to the one world that felt almost like a home. But, her mission this time is more tactile and secretive than the last - can she hide again? (Sequel to 'Repaying a Debt')
1. Escapism

**Thievery**  
  
_Disclaimer: Anything you recognise from the Zelda games doesn't belong to me. Anything you don't recognise probably belongs to me. But I can't be sure – so I take no claim for stuff that isn't mine.  
  
At last, I can hear you all (three of you) sigh, as you rove your eyes over this beginning chapter of this here tale. She's gotten off her arse and given us our sequel. Whee! Hooray!  
  
Just for some background, I'm setting this fifty years (Hyrule time) from the end of Repaying a Debt. However, in Angel time, this has only been about twelve years. Don't ask, it's just the way the time difference works. And now, before you get bored with my rambling, I'll set the scene. (Third person as all my introductions are).  
  
Oh yes, and :: :: = Ganondorf's thoughts, [] = Alexis' thoughts, and hopefully I don't need to have anyone else thinking._

* * *

* * *

Deep in the Sacred Realm, an exhausted creature allowed a smile to ghost across it's strangely contorted face. Sparks of magic cracked across every part of skin that lay exposed to the blue tinged air, and the creature scratched the back of it's left hand ponderously as it watched the sparks run up and down. The bolts of rainbow-like magic which were being fired towards it from far below did not seem to bother it – indeed, it seemed they did not even pierce it's hide, which enraged the attackers below to yell obscenities and curses at it.  
  
This drew its attention, and one black-furred, lupine ear flicked backwards towards the sounds' origin. With a brightly glowing gaze, it looked down, and at last seemed to register that it was under attack. Lazily, it managed to lower itself to their level, somehow knowing how the intricate air currents worked with in the Realm. The attackers below flung their spells forth with a new fervour, backing away as the creature advanced slowly upon them.  
  
"Why is he awake?" a tiny female child with forest green hair yelled above the cacophony of the spells as they bounced off of the creature's exoskeleton. "Rauru? C'mon, answer me!" Two fairies circled around the girl, one white, and the other a sunbeam yellow. The white one peeled off, and crossed over to a portly old gentleman with a bristled beard and who was as bald as a billiard ball.  
  
"You Sageliness," the fairy called over the din, "what's going on? Why's he up?"  
  
"I honestly don't know, oh wise Navi – back to Saria, she needs thee more than I." The fairy did as she was told, and flitted back to the green- haired child. Whilst the ball of light had flitted between the two, the creature had been studying its other enemies. There was a boulder-like creature, which hurled massive orbs of red, which the creature had once known the name of but had forgotten. And there, next to it, a scaled blue thing, which let out tendrils of the same blue.  
  
"Of all days, he chooses today to get up early?" a red-haired female groaned, as she sent out amber light. "Why couldn't he just be lazy like he was in life?" Her long hair whipped out behind her in a tightly knotted braid as she turned around.  
  
"There's no point blathering – just keep attacking." This last assailant was the most formidable to the creature's eyes. Her tone was deep, and her magic suited it – dark and shadowy purple, which unlike the others' magic, crept up and around the creature. ::So that is what has been making me itch so:: it thought with some annoyance.  
  
The creature was slow in its interpretation of all these noises. It had been so long since it had last heard voices, so the translation took its feeble brain time. Finally, clarification dawned in it's head, and it once more took up scratching it's left hand, this time with a purpose other than an itch behind the action. ::I was something else once.....my name was Ganondorf!:: With this recollection, light began to radiate from the now raw skin on the back of it's left hand, and the attackers below covered their eyes against the brightness.

* * *

"Finally!" he straightened up, and the sunspots stopped dancing across the Sages' eyes. "Now – let me past," he demanded, glowering at the six of them.  
  
"Cover the doors – we can still rein him!" the old man said.  
  
::Rauru, wasn't it?:: "Don't talk nonsense – your powers are nothing to mine anymore.....all of you are weak from your years here, but I am only stronger." He reached out a black gauntleted hand, and caught the old man about the neck, easily lifting him from the floor. "Step back, old timer. I, Lord Ganondorf, am back. And, if my timekeeping is correct, the Hero is too wizened to fight me.....and the Princess of Destiny is long dead." He dropped the now wheezing Sage of Light, and strolled towards the door which was the way out of the Realm.  
  
As he had assumed they would, the remaining five Sages barred his way; from the corner of his eye, he saw that pesky white fairy that had belonged to the Hero helping the old timer off of the floor. "Move," he commanded simply, raising his left fist which pulsated with the Tri-Force of Power's magic. "The power of the Goddesses is mine now."  
  
"It's not yours – you just stole it," the green-haired kid returned simply, and he almost laughed at the petulant innocence in the girl's voice. He also had to restrain the want to bend down and look her in the eyes before he killed her. It was a tactic he had loved whilst he was still alive.  
  
::I'll be alive again soon – just have to get past this useless lot.:: He barged his way through them, walking whilst the Forest Sage and Water Sage attached themselves to his leg and arm, respectively. With a great shrug, he loosed the Zora, but the kid was a different matter. ::Why is it only kids with this grip?:: He wondered briefly as he tried to shake her off, to no avail.  
  
"Impa, over here!" he turned his head slightly, not letting the doorway out of his sight, and saw the traitor Nabooru standing there with the Sheikah woman.  
  
::If things had been different, I would have had that Sheikah,:: he thought with a smirk, and lashed out again, managing to dislodge the kid fully.  
  
"Shit! Darunia, block him!"  
  
A large boulder seemed to block Ganondorf's way to the door, and he was unable to stop himself before he cannoned into it. ::Fucking thing's broken my nose!:: He cursed silently, and knew now it was time to release the full array of his arsenal of weaponry. With minimal effort, he managed to conjure up the strength to push the boulder thing off of him, and was at the door before any of them could catch up with his magically accelerated footsteps.  
  
He turned around, and looked at the mayhem he had caused – the white fairy was quickly healing the old timer and the boulder thing, and the four women were rushing towards him. ::Much as I love having women rush at me.....:: He turned around once more, to look at the empty blackness of beyond Realm. A tiny hovering image of the world he wanted – no – needed to own, hung in the blackness. "Love to stay, but have to run I'm afraid," he called over his shoulder, before taking a leap over the edge.  
  
"No!" Nabooru's voice wafted down, and a few bolts stabbed harmlessly into the darkness, none coming near to him.  
  
::At last – I'm free.:: He smiled, and closed his eyes, waiting for the journey to be over. ::It's been far too long.:: Almost as an afterthought, he waved his glowing left hand, and mended his broken nose.

* * *

* * *

"ALEXIS!" the man's desperate voice thundered around the courtyard, startling a few angels who were sitting on the stone benches, admiring the sun as it rose over the clouds in all its rosy glory. "For demons sake, where is that child?"  
  
"Calm down Loki, she's probably asleep like any sane person," the man who was having to jog to keep up with Loki's strides laughed softly.  
  
"David, this is no laughing matter!" Loki scolded, bunching his shoulders and taking a deep breath ready to yell again. David caught up, with the aide of his majestic snowy wings, and put an arm around his lover's shoulders. Loki let the air whoosh out slowly, and looked up at him. "All right – maybe a more subtle approach....." With that, they headed to the stairs, an amused smile still lingering on David's face as he watched Loki's agitated movements. He just got so worked up about these things; it was adorable.  
  
Contrary to David's prediction however, Alexis was very much awake, and arrived at the top of the stairs just as they finished their ascent. "What is it?" she asked sleepily, scraping the hair away from her eyes and blinking against the sunlight.  
  
"Something's happening in Hyrule."  
  
"Good something or bad something?" she yawned. Then, looking at his face, her own fell. "Bad something?" He nodded, and David finally managed to gauge exactly how important this land must have been to her. "Hang on – I'll just – I'll be right back!" She turned around, and stumbled off towards her chambers, no doubt to get dressed – and probably grab a weapon if Loki and David knew anything about her gung-ho attitude.

* * *

[Oh demons, what's going wrong there now?] She thought as she scrambled around getting dressed. [Let's see – mad raging wild beasts killing people?] She snorted slightly – no, that was far too conventional for Hyrule. It would have to be something _really_ fucked up to get Loki like that. [Great.] She realised with a start that trying to put her legs into a shirt wasn't going to have much effect, and quickly changed her method so that all the clothes were placed on the correct body parts.  
  
When she was all assembled in the clothes department, she looked up to her walls, which, instead of holding pictures and other such sentimental rubbish, were adorned with racks of various weapons that she had gathered in her travels. She studied them for a while, and then smiled. [An oldie but goodie.] She removed her Mithril sword from the rack, and slid it into a sheath at her waist. [Oh for the days when I could just clip this to my back.]  
  
It was less then five minutes when David and Loki were again graced with her company, and she swiftly followed them to the training grounds, where all the records of the different worlds were kept. Including those of Hyrule, the world where Alexis had finally gained redemption. (See the old legends by the name of 'Repaying a Debt' for the full story). "So, what exactly's happening?" she asked as Loki and David walked briskly either side of her. "I mean, do we have monsters wreaking havoc, or evil overlords, a dragon, what?"  
  
David let out a small laugh at her stabs at humour, but was quickly subdued by a look from Loki. "Sadly, no – in fact, I think we'd all love it to be a dragon....."  
  
"What is it dammit?"  
  
"Ganondorf," David said quietly, and she stopped dead in her tracks – the other two kept walking, and did not notice for a few paces.  
  
"You – he – tell me this is a joke."  
  
"It's no joke," Loki growled. "Now, come on, there's more you need to know."  
  
"I think I know enough – summon a portal immediately, and I'll be on my way."  
  
"Looking like that?" David asked, motioning towards her strange attire. She paused to check herself. Black shirt, black trousers, hair out of the way, and sword at her side. She looked up and cocked her head on one side.  
  
"I think I'm ready.....I'm dressed and have what I need – oh, glasses!" she fished them out of her pocket and placed them daintily upon her nose, where the dark lenses obscured her strange violet eyes. "Well, what are you waiting for Loki?"  
  
"Urm – well, that wasn't really what I meant....." David trailed off, and raised a hand to gesture to his wings. Her mouth fell open, and comprehension dawned on her face. "And – well, Loki really does need to explain things to you before you go back. It won't be anything like how it was the first time." She just nodded, and fell into step with them again.

* * *

"Ah, life is just one great joy after another," she quipped dryly as they walked into the dusty archives of the training grounds. One table at the centre of the room showed signs of obvious use, as it was the only one still free of dust and cobwebs – and upon this table lay the entire history of Hyrule, from it's making until the present day. Next to the twelve-book strong pile lay scrolls and parchment, and next to that, writing paper and ink.  
  
"I take it you've been working on this for a while then?" she asked Loki, who nodded sombrely. "Well, I suppose at least one of us has been keeping track," she muttered, sliding into one of the two chairs at the table.  
  
"Uh.....I suppose I'll just.....yeah," David stammered, before backing out of the archive rooms. He never was one to dwell on the dark things in the world, and Alexis and Loki smiled fondly after him, before turning to the serious matters at hand.

* * *

* * *

_  
Perhaps not the longest of my works, and it sure doesn't make much sense if you haven't read (or at least know) the storyline of the first. Hence the fact it's a sequel I suppose.....[looks confused].  
  
And, I'm just trying to reel you people in for now, so I've only let slip one part of the story. The rest is going to be interesting if it works out the way I want it to. However, lamentably, it's also going to be one of those projects that will take a ridiculously long time, just like the last novel thing I attempted, so you'll have to be patient with me. It's coming up to a year where I'll have a lot of exams, so I won't be around as much to write. I will, however, try to keep up as well as I can.  
  
So, until next time, it's me, signing off – Soda  
  
R/R, and give me some love – I'm gonna need it..... _


	2. History lesson

**Thievery**  
  
_Disclaimer: Alexis is mine. That's about it – oh, and the plot!  
  
Right about now, Alexis is within the Angel archives; awaiting whatever explanation Loki is going to give her about the current situation in Hyrule. Let's take look at what's going on, shall we?  
  
[] = Alexis' thoughts (just like old times, hey people?)_

* * *

* * *

I looked squarely at Loki, waiting for him to turn away from his fond farewell smile to David. When he did turn back, I registered just how solemn his face was through my slightly sleep clouded mind, and mentally shook myself to wake up a little more. "So.....what's so different this time then?" I asked, beginning to look over some of the papers, before realising that I had forgotten most of my Hylian, and putting them down again.  
  
"Many things – perhaps I should explain the history a little before we get to the task at hand?" he left a space, no doubt expecting me to refuse and want to know about the trouble immediately. I didn't say a word – it wasn't as though I had been keeping close tabs on the place since I left.....that would be altogether too painful. With some obvious surprise at my silence, he spoke again. "All right. Well, first of all, fifty years have passed there." I nodded - _that_ was the one thing I had known.  
  
"Which of course means the Hero has aged somewhat – sixty seven or so, if I guessed his age correctly at the time of Ganondorf's fall?" I nodded again. "Right – well, he's the Lord Protector of Hyrule, and lives in one of the wings of the palace with his children and grandchildren – the girl Malon was his wife, but she passed two years ago." I felt a slight jolt as I thought of that bright smile being extinguished in death.  
  
[At least it wasn't a death at the hands of darkness.]  
  
"Now, the Princess Zelda committed suicide," Loki looked down at the notes in his lap for the date, and so didn't notice my shock until he looked up again. "Oh – sorry, that was a little blunt.....uh....."  
  
"Don't worry about it – you're telling me a swift history, so make it swift," I bit back, unable to contain the bitter tone. [Suicide?] Then, I sighed, [I thought of that once.....it's not so strange I suppose.]  
  
"Right – well – uh – she y'know, about ten years ago."  
  
"What of the Tri-Force of Wisdom?"  
  
"It passed to her daughter, Thelia. I believe it's a most odd occurrence for the Tri-Force to be passed through bloodlines, so people admire her even more than her mother. However, she herself does not hold much stock by the piece, and thinks of Link as a burden upon her household.....she cannot turn him out, because he has such high social standing, and the population still adore him as the Hero." He shuffled the sheaves of paper on his lap, and discarded one, before looking to another.  
  
"How long did you take on those notes?" I asked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. He gave a wry smile, and held them up, to show lines of his tiny neat print adorning the pages.  
  
"Oh, not that long....." he dropped them again, and I laughed as best I could.  
  
"Liar."  
  
He just shrugged, and then began to read from the second sheet. "Ah, here it is; I listed the names of all of Link's family, and also the current lover of Thelia." I raised an eyebrow,  
  
"How old is she exactly?"  
  
"Late thirties," he said immediately.  
  
"And she's not married yet?"  
  
"Many people don't get married until later."  
  
"But, Loki, you great fact-file dolt, royalty usually marry quite young, for heirs and alliances. Any of this ringing a bell?" He frowned, and nodded.  
  
"I know that – but Thelia is very unconventional. She even keeps a sorcerer in-court – by name of Aghanim (sp?) or something like that. That's not common practice by any stretch of the imagination in Hyrule. She has also not produced any heirs, and has declared that she will choose her successor when she so chooses."  
  
"Pretty unorthodox," I breathed.  
  
"Aye. And that's not all – she also has her own army – and I don't mean the Royal Guard, I mean an actual army. Most of them are of Gerudo descent, the children of Gerudo and Hylian unions, and she has both men and women in the army. Apparently 'they make her feel safe', but some people speculate that they're there in case the public choose to rise against her, and put Link on the throne."  
  
"So the population aren't happy bunnies then?"  
  
"You could say that..... Link doesn't wish to be upon the throne, by all reports, and has told many people so."  
  
"Such modesty must just make him even more popular!"  
  
"Exactly! It's a vicious circle, and that is one of things that will make it so damned difficult for you."  
  
"Goodie – I get to traverse a possible civil war," I grumbled. [Why does everything have to be so complicated?]  
  
"That's about the top and bottom of it I'm afraid – and this is just the history part – I haven't told you the worst bits yet."  
  
"And that makes me feel _so_ much better," I said sarcastically, causing my Godfather to smile widely.  
  
"Ah, ever the optimist?" he chuckled, and I joined in with the infectious merriment. I had learned over the years just what amusing company he could be, and here, within the comforting must of the archives, some of my anxiety was drifting away. And, it was quite interesting to listen to how Hyrule had been getting along in the fifty years of peace Link, Sheik and I had managed to bring it.  
  
"Hang on – you've not said a word about Sheik," I said accusatively.  
  
"Well – I – I'm afraid to say, there isn't much to tell. All I can tell you is that he was seen leaving Kakariko, the day after you left. From there, he went missing for about a year, and then turned up again at the rebuilt palace, where he was given the post of a Captain of the Guard. He stayed for five years, then upped and left, and wasn't seen since."  
  
"I don't like the way you said wasn't there," I growled, and he flushed slightly.  
  
"Well, it only stands to reason – over forty years, and you think that he may still be alive?" I looked down at the floor – of course he was perfectly correct. Hoping any differently was a futile thing to do. It was just, being told in such blunt, no nonsense terms, made it seem a hundred times as bad. "I'm sorry little one, but it's easier to say this now, than for you to get hurt later on." He leaned over the desk, and embraced me, and I clutched my arms around him, before letting go and sitting up straight again, composing myself.  
  
"Of course.....it's just hearing it in such certain terms makes it seem all the more real." He nodded in his sagely way, and then turned to the third page of his notes. "The look on your face tells me we're now getting to the first class horror?" Another nod, and a sympathetic smile.  
  
"I'm afraid so."  
  
"Tell me and get it over with."  
  
"Well, you already know Ganondorf has escaped the Realm – damn David and his big mouth." I snorted quietly. "Well, he's escaped – but it is going to take perhaps eight days for him to reach Hyrule proper, which gives us some time to get a plan in motion." He paused and looked up. "I've just thought – perhaps someone else could do this? You really shouldn't be going out again so soon after your last mission after all." I just glared at him. "Or not....." he cowered slightly, and stared down at his notes, waiting for me to stop giving him a death-glare.  
  
"OK. If Ganondorf gains the Tri-Force of Courage from Link, and the Tri- Force of Wisdom from Thelia – Hyrule will be fucked. Pure and simple. So, you need to stop it. The only problem is, there are only two solutions to the problem that we know will work. The first one is to find a carrier, who holds balanced Courage, Power and Wisdom, and pull the pieces out of the current three holders, and put them into the carrier. Of course, the carrier would have to be one completely pure of heart – someone totally good-"  
  
"Rules me out then," I cut across him dryly, and he stared at me. I didn't carry on with what I was going to say. "Sorry – carry on."  
  
"The carrier needs to be pure and good of heart, so that when they wish, Hyrule will go into an age of prosperity – and then the Tri-Force will return to the Realm, and not even Ganondorf will be able to get it back, because the Ocarina of Time was destroyed after his first fall."  
  
"Destroyed?" I echoed in surprise. "But – that was the treasure of the Royal Family. The most magical object that existed in Hyrule, bar perhaps the Master Sword!"  
  
"Exactly. For them to keep something so powerful would have been dangerous. So, it was destroyed." He reached the last paper in the pile now. "Now, the other solution will hopefully not need to be used. But, if for some reason, the carrier does not work."  
  
"Hang on – where am I to find this balanced, pure and good of heart carrier?" I cut across him again, and he sighed in annoyance.  
  
"Don't worry about that – she's already been found."  
  
"How long _have_ you been working on this?" I asked suspiciously.  
  
"Long enough," he said brusquely, and I decided not to push it. It didn't matter – after all, I didn't have to find that blasted carrier, which was going to be a help. "Now, the other is only in the failure of the first. The Tri-Force pieces must not be allowed to meet within Ganondorf. They must converge in either Thelia or Link, so that the wish can be made, and the fiasco will be over with. So, in order to stop them meeting in Ganondorf, two of the current carriers must be disposed of," this last part was said tentatively, and he cringed away as I jumped up from my chair.  
  
"So you're telling me, I have to choose which one gets to live?" he quailed, and nodded. "So now I'm an Angel of Death you say?" I let out a wild laugh at the unintended pun, and then flopped back down into the chair, face impassive. "Of course, it won't come to that. I will never allow it to come to that, because I'm not going to spill innocent blood. This carrier?" I prompted, and Loki stopped cowering like a tiny animal, and sat up straight again.  
  
"Oh – yes. You will find her arriving in the Temple of Time four days after you arrive in Hyrule."  
  
"Four days?" I exclaimed. "But then that gives me only another four to prepare her!"  
  
"Don't yell at me about it, I can't change when she arrives – it was the quickest she could be bought!" This time, I quailed, and he quickly dropped his angry stance, and placed a hand over my one, which lay across the tabletop. "Didn't mean to yell, sorry," he said shortly. "Can I go on, without you exploding?" a playful smile swept over his lips, and I nodded. "The carrier will arrive – she's a child of fifteen, with red hair, and round ears – much like a Gerudo."  
  
"I don't like the sound of that – what do you mean 'much like a Gerudo', as opposed to her actually being a Gerudo."  
  
"Well, I would have thought by the fact they had to bring her through a portal, that you would have guessed she's not from Hyrule."  
  
"Oh great – does she know anything about Hyrule? And if she doesn't yet, will she by the time she gets there?"  
  
"Only the languages and the legends of the Tri-Force."  
  
"So I get to baby-sit a teen who's been ripped from her own world?"  
  
"May I remind you that she's the same age as you were when you first fought Ganondorf," he scolded.  
  
[Of course – how could I forget?]  
  
"She'll be fine – you however, will need to control your temper. You'll have to lie low, so that you don't stir up suspicions. And Aghanim.....I suspect that he is not what he appears. I know that he practices the dark magics as well as the regular ones, and he's far too interested in getting into Thelia's good books."  
  
"You really wanted to say 'Thelia's bed' there, didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah, just a bit," he smiled guiltily, and looked like a little schoolboy who'd been caught doing something bad. "It would probably be an apt assumption that that's what he _is_ trying to do anyway. They're both about the same age I believe, and Thelia seems to enjoy his company more than is acceptable for a Princess and her court sorcerer."  
  
"How romantic – they could have little sorcerer children with great wisdom together," I sighed in a fake happiness. "Sickening." Loki raised an eyebrow – I ignored it. "Any other terrible news to give me? Like my cat's died or something similar?" He tried to keep his face straight, but I cocked my head to one side, made a small mewing noise, and laughter escaped. [I've got a knack for making him laugh now!] I thought triumphantly, and waited for the laughter to die down. "When is it I leave?"  
  
"A few hours – I'll need to summon a portal – and you need to go and say goodbye to a few of your friends I'll warrant." I nodded, thinking of the close circle of friends I had built up over twelve years. "And," I looked up, "you'll need to excuse yourself from teaching the younger recruits."  
  
"Shit – how could I forget about them?" I rushed out of the room, and Loki called after me.  
  
"Be back here after lunch!"  
  
"Right," I called over my shoulder, and carried on my speedy way to carry out the tasks I needed to before departing on another mission.

* * *

"Another mission?" Ollie wailed as he tied his horse up in the stables. "But 'lex, its only been a month since the last, and you were away almost a year on that one!"  
  
"I know, I know – but this is Hyrule, and you know I can't pass Hyrule up damn it! I'm not having some amateur fuck up there." He grinned widely at me, and I smiled guiltily.  
  
"Bit over protective, aren't we now?" he quipped, taking a brush from the wall of the stable, and beginning to brush his steed down.  
  
"Well – if you'd been there, you'd understand. And anyway, I would have though you'd have loved it, with a whole race of only women to look forward to!" I punched him lightly on the arm, and he blushed. "Maybe I'll try and find one for you, shall I?" He blushed even darker, and then turned around from his task.  
  
"Umm – well – actually....." he scratched the back of his neck.  
  
"You asked her?!" I squeaked, grabbing both his hands, so that he dropped the brush, and spinning him around in dizzying circles. "When did you ask? How long has this been going on? Wait, can't be more than four days, that's when I last saw you, and this definitely hadn't happened then. So? Spill the beans!" I stopped spinning him, and he swayed slightly, and put a hand to his head.  
  
"If I tell, will you promise never to do that again – it's made me feel queasy."  
  
"'Course," I laughed. "Now, tell all, and make it quick, I've other people to see!"  
  
"Oh, that makes me feel loved!" he pouted, and I punched him again. We sat down on the overturned, empty trough in the stable stall. "Well, I asked her because I was so bored of you teasing me about it really. Plus – the ball seemed like the perfect thing to ask her to – you know....." he trailed off, and I gaped at him. The ball.....I was going to miss it for the fourth year running. He blinked, and then asked suddenly, "Who are you going with?"  
  
"I – I'm not," I admitted. "The mission probably won't be over by then."  
  
"Damn – because I was going to say, if you didn't have anyone, I'm sure Jamie would do the honour."  
  
"Jamie? Don't be daft, he and Carla are the strongest thing since.....I don't know what." He shook his head. "OK, how do I miss these things?" I asked.  
  
"You don't pay enough attention," Ollie laughed. "Mind you, the break up happened before you got back, so that might be why you don't know. Carla's on a year-long mission to Dreadnought, and Jamie's due back from Trench in a week."  
  
"A year in Dreadnought – ouch, she must be really pissed!"  
  
"That's a nice way of putting it. She threatened to cut his....." Ollie trailed off with a mischievous grin.  
  
"You're kidding!"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Why did they break up?"  
  
"Well, she was actually with Louis behind his back – so I don't see why she should be the one after revenge," he ended ponderously. I felt enraged that I had fallen behind on the happenings with my friends.  
  
"Louis? That pompous bastard over Jamie? Did she go blind, deaf and dumb?" Ollie just shrugged. "I'll have to get a message to her – she needs talking to."  
  
"I wouldn't – I don't think Jamie would want her back – he was pretty upset about it."  
  
"How upset?"  
  
"Almost a whole crate of beer upset."  
  
"Demons, how do I miss these things?"  
  
"You work too hard."  
  
"And you're not a workaholic?" I countered with a snigger. The sound of footsteps drew out attention, and looking up, I saw the very girl that I had finally goaded Ollie into making a move on. Lara: tall, slim and beautiful – as well as being one of the sharpest wits in the whole of the warrior division. Not to mention one of my best friends. I jumped up off of the trough, and exited the stall, to lean over the edge and talk to the two of them.  
  
"Lara, I've got another mission – dunno how long it'll be, but I should think pretty long."  
  
"You're off again?" she said in annoyance. "What about the ball, hmm?"  
  
"Hyrule can't wait," I answered sadly. "And neither can I, I have to go and say a few more goodbyes."  
  
"All right – well, 'bye." She called sadly after me – I waved as I left.  
  
"We love you!" Ollie called in a stagy voice, and he and Lara cracked up. I just smiled, and headed towards the offices. Now to break it gently to Gary that I wouldn't be able to teach the young warriors for about two months or so. [This isn't going to be pretty.]

* * *

I fled the office, assaulted by numerous paper aeroplanes that Gary always kept stacked on his desk, seemingly especially to throw at me. I ducked and dived around and between them, and Gary's curses floated after me. I couldn't help but to grin as I began to make my way to say goodbye to the last of my friends in various places around the training grounds.  
  
[Hyrule might be nice. But there really is nothing like home.] I thought, smiling even wider as the sun shone down, and the sounds of the younger warriors play-fighting reached my ears. [I'm so damn glad I always have this to come back to.]

* * *

The portal was ready and waiting when I returned. A small pang of guilt and remembrance ran through me, but on seeing Loki's grinning face, I brushed it aside. "Your portal milady," he bowed like a gentleman, and held out his arms to the portal. "All set with the rigs to make your stay as comfortable as possible." I shook my head in amusement, and then looked around.  
  
"Where's David?"  
  
"Right here!" he laughed, and caught me in a bear hug from behind. "Good luck tyke!"  
  
"How many times? I'm not a tyke!" I protested, whilst laughing and trying to get the Master Angel to relinquish his grip. "Don't make me drop-kick you again," I threatened, and he let go immediately.  
  
"Demons you're vicious!" he ruffled my hair, and I returned it with a good- tempered scowl. "Ah, but seriously 'lex, you be careful, all right?"  
  
"I always am," I answered.  
  
"Oh – and," he reached into the back pocket of the trousers he was wearing. "Just a good luck charm." He handed me a Mithril and silver armlet, which was carved in the shape of a snake biting its own tail. "Put it on – it may not be the prettiest thing, but it's got some charms on it."  
  
"Thanks," I slipped it up my arm, and then let the sleeve of my tee shirt fall over the cold metal. "You worry too much!"  
  
"It's my job," he said with a wink, and then looked over my head to Loki. I turned around, and found myself yet again trapped in a bear hug.  
  
[This could get on my nerves.]  
  
"'lex, promise me you'll be careful," he muttered.  
  
"Hey, I already promised that."  
  
"Not to me – now, promise, or someone else is doing this mission."  
  
"Fine! I promise I will be careful."  
  
"Good girl – now – good luck, all right?" I just nodded, and turned away from both him and David to look at the portal. Flashing a smile back and dropping a wink back to them, I stepped in. All the changes and advances arrived in my mind, and my outfit shaped itself into a suitable style.

* * *

* * *

I landed with surprising grace within the quiet green of the Lost Woods, and saw the very same pool I had seen upon my first journey to Hyrule. With slight curiosity, I wandered over to observe how I had changed. I was slightly taller, my face had gained a softer edge and I had become accustomed at last to the curves I had acquired. Going with the fashion of the times, I wore a tunic of dark grey, this time with black tights instead of the trousers of my original venture here. Turning my head to the side, I admired the pointed ear, through which were pierced three silver hoops at the very tip – the other was exactly the same. And, I noticed with a sigh of relief that my hair was cropped to a suitably short length for once.  
  
Forest spirits congregated around me, tiny voices squeaking their greetings to me. I just nodded and smiled, and the sounds slowly subsided – a cloud of wispy lights followed me as I lazily strolled in the general direction of where I thought Kokiri village was. When I came into a clearing filled with the skeleton of a great old tree, and a thriving sapling, I knew I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. No matter – the village was just beyond the sapling, through a winding pathway walled by thick trees on either side. [Hmm – I could probably go to lake Hylia and do some fishing or something whilst I wait for the carrier.]  
  
"Other worlder!" the tree called out to me, it's voice sweet and mellow. I changed my course towards it, a fond smile on my face as I bent down in one knee before the forest guardian. "How fare you child of the forest?"  
  
"Verily, I fare well. And thee?" It was surprisingly easy to speak in the old fashioned way of the tree, now that I had my knowledge of Hylian back.  
  
"Not so well, I am saddened to say. Once more, dark things are creeping over our land. And, I know not how this evil shall be combated."  
  
"Rest assured, it shall be. I have returned to aide this world again, and hopefully this time, the Dark Sire Ganondorf will not be able to escape the punishment he truly deserves. And then, this fair land will be rid of worry and fear for once and for all!"  
  
"Aye, I believe that with your help all this shall come to pass. But, what of the Hero and the Sheikah? I heard tales that you did not leave this world with your companions in the best of spirits." I hung my head, and sighed heavily.  
  
"That is something I have not dared think on too much. Besides, both Link and Sheik will have grown old by now – perhaps with their years they have managed to forgive – or at least forget – what I did. And, alas, even though thou art wise, I myself suspect that Sheik is.....dead....." The tree hmmed a little, and seemed to want to say more, but stopped itself. I got up from my bended knee, and bowed slightly to the guardian before walking away.  
  
"Just remember that things aren't always what they seem. It is a lesson that particularly you can relate to," the Deku Tree called after me, and I nodded my agreement. Things never were what they seemed in this place. I strolled past a few tiny Deku-Baba, not even bothering to swing my sword at the creatures. They were no threat. The village came into view before me, and I roved my eyes from side to side in order to take everything in. It had not changed one bit (apart from the monsters disappearing, that was).  
  
A small red haired boy hurtled towards me, green hat spiralling off of his head as he hurried over. "Blaise! Blaise, it's me, Mido!" I was surprised when the child wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged me so hard that I was finding it difficult to breathe. "Wow, it's so good to see you! Hey, everybody, look, it's Link's old friend! Come on, come say hello!" And before I knew it, I was swamped by more of the green-clad, pointy eared, eager eyed Kokiri children. All of the crowded around, clamouring to know where I had been all this time, and did I know whether any of their nightmares might mean the same as Link's had so long ago.  
  
I had to sit down to prevent myself from being knocked over, and the Kokiri copied my movement like very well trained sheep. "I'm afraid I can't tell you anything for certain as to what your dreams mean.....however, the Great Deku-Tree does suspect that it could mean something bad is on the way. But," I called over the worried murmurs, "do not worry. You will be protected from any danger, that I promise. Now, as for where I have been, it is a long story, and I don't think I have time right now to tell it to you." I stood up, and began to walk towards the exit into the field.  
  
"Oh, please tell us the story!"  
  
"Yes, please Miss Blaise!"  
  
"Don't go yet, wouldn't you like something to eat or drink?" They all tugged at the hem of my tunic, and I smiled slightly, even though I was also annoyed by being waylaid. So, I turned around and bent down to be on their eyelevel.  
  
"I'm afraid I can't stay right now – but when I next come back (which could be quite soon), I will tell you the story. OK?" This seemed to satisfy them, and I was allowed to walk out into Hyrule field without dragging about twenty Kokiri with me. [I'll give them credit – their memories are fantastic if they can remember me.]

* * *

The field was as I remembered, the same hills and slight valleys around it, and there, in the distance to the northwest was the Ranch. It seemed to have expanded slightly, and searching through my new knowledge of the land, I discovered that it in fact had gained two extra paddocks, and now its horses were renowned not only in Hyrule, but in the lands across the waters as well. [Fantastic – I bet Malon was proud of what it's become.]  
  
I wondered whether I should go there, and get myself a horse, or if I should just walk everywhere. After all, nothing in the field was more than five day's travel to something on the opposite end. Mind you – five days could be too much in this mission, so the horse was probably a good idea. I dug around in my tunic pockets, and found, to my great surprise, that as well as the fifty or so rupees I had collected myself (in the form of two red rupees, one blue, and five green), David and Loki had added another four hundred to my funds, in the form of two gold rupees.  
  
[I could buy five horses with this, not just one!] I thought – then again, if I wanted to get a _really_ good horse, the price could possibly go up into the two, and maybe even three hundred range. So, I was thankful for the foresight of them to give me more funds. [I wonder how long it will take me to get to the Ranch from here? How long did it take last time?] Well, if I remember rightly, most of one day – from dawn till dusk.  
  
[I suppose I'd better start moving then.] I set off towards the silhouette of the Ranch, turning my head right and left as I went to look at the exquisite greenness of the grass. When I had left fifty years ago (Hyrule time) it had all been yellow and wilted, more weed than grass – but, the land had come into a time of fertility and plenty, which the grass managed to altogether prove. It was springy underfoot, and smelt sweet. I registered the fact that it was perhaps early spring, as there was still a chill bite in the air, though the sun shone down brightly, and a few flowers were beginning to make their presence known.  
  
To the east, I could see the meandering silver coils of Zora's river, and even the curve in the land at which it came out from Zora's domain. I wondered how it was now that it would be completely unfrozen, and what the waterfall would look like now. [Ack, I'm getting so sentimental.] I thought, but I just couldn't wipe the fond smile from my face. I was wrong – Hyrule was like a second home.....[I could be happy here – just as happy as at home really.]  
  
[But.....no, here I would have no friends, I would have to hide who I am. I need to be somewhere that I can be myself.]  
  
The sound of hoof beats wormed their way into my consciousness, and I turned to the direct west, away from the sun, to see a rider galloping at a fast clip about a mile away, riding along a ridge in the field towards the Ranch. As I watched, another four or five riders came into sight, and all of them seemed to be bowed low in the saddle. When the first rider passed a tall tree that had evidently been struck by lightning (maybe more than once), a flare went up with a bang into the sky, and I could hear the faint sounds of cheering.  
  
[It's a race!] I realised suddenly, and laughed out loud. Of all the things to see! Hyrule truly had become a peaceful place once more. [And I can't let it fall again.....] With a new determination, I carried on to the Ranch, now taking swifter and longer strides. If I could get there long enough before sundown, I could buy a horse today, instead of having to hope for lodgings and buy one tomorrow.  
  
[That's a point.....where am I going to sleep tonight?] I thought about going back to the Kokiri village, but I knew I might not be able to tear myself away from the inquisitive little folk again. Then, I contemplated the Castle-Town.....but that was far too close to the palace, and consequently too close to Link. I had not changed so much that it would be hard for him to recognise me, and I didn't want to explain the fact that I might end up having to kill him at some point. [Way to spoil the day there,] I scolded myself, and sighed heavily as I kept on at my swift pace.  
  
[Kakariko?] I quickly dismissed this as well – not for reasons of keeping myself hidden. More for memory's sake than anything else. That was just asking for trouble, going to that place again. [So where then? Lake Hylia?] I decided that would probably be best. But, before I could continue to worry about where I was to stay for the night, I had to get a blasted horse.

* * *

* * *

_Tadum! And now she's in Hyrule – and evidently she's going to be buying a horse in the next chapter – yay! I'm having more fun with this now that I've actually got it started, and got the plot somewhat worked out in my head. Now at least, I know what's going to happen (most of it anyway).  
  
I'll see you all next update!  
  
RR – Soda XXX_


	3. Mysterious someone

**Thievery  
**  
_Disclaimer: Ditto last chapter.  
  
We're at chapter three already? Whoo, I sure can write fast when I don't have any distractions around. Let's see – we're off to go get a horse, right? (Well, Alexis is anyway). What will she make of the Ranch after fifty years? And what will the Ranch owners make of her? Oh yes – and not forgetting the most important thing – where's she sleeping tonight? All shall be answered below.....  
  
[Writes like a journalist on double caffeine coffee – have you seen those guys writing? It's **fast**!]  
  
[] = Alexis' thoughts and italics = memories _

__

* * *

* * *

At my quick pace, I managed to reach the Ranch with a good few hours left before dusk. Now that I drew closer, I could see just how much larger it had become – there was even a tiny hamlet attached to the side of it, which I would have to walk through to get to the paddocks, and thus the horses. I smiled as I saw that the name of the one street village was 'Talon-way', and noticed a plaque before the well at the very centre of the area. I walked over to it, and knelt down, causing a pair of blacksmiths before their shop to stop their work and gaze curiously at me.  
  
I ignored them, and read what was written on the plaque. 'In memory of all those who served on this Ranch during the darkness, taking into considerable account her ladyship, Malon, who endured hardships beyond hardship. We honour this brave lady, and so many others.' I stood up again, and dusted off the knees of the tights I wore. [I wonder where exactly the horses are sold from.] I decided to ask the blacksmiths, as they were the only people upon the street.  
  
"Excuse me?" I leant over the waist-high wall before their shop, and the older of the two put down the hoof of the horse he had been expecting, and mopped his face of sweat as he turned to face me.  
  
"Yes?" he puffed, stuffing the rag he'd wiped his face with into his apron pocket.  
  
"I was just wondering where exactly I need to go to purchase a horse – if you know that is?"  
  
"Course I know miss – but, you won't be getting a horse today; not with the races going on." My face fell, and he seemed to notice. "But – you should be able to get good lodgings at the 'Weary traveller inn', and the horses are on sale tomorrow from dawn until midday when the races start again."  
  
"Oh – right. Thank you very much," I smiled, and walked away – then, I turned back. "Sorry to carry on bothering you, but which paddock are the races in?"  
  
"Second one over," he said, and stared at me piercingly. "You're not from around here, are you?"  
  
"Not exactly."  
  
"I didn't think so – got any particular business in Hyrule?" his eyes darted to the sword at my waist. "Not meaning to pry of course – just making conversation," he smiled toothily, and I could see the honesty in his words.  
  
"Oh, I don't mind. I'm just travelling really – I vowed that I would see the world, so I thought I'd start with the nicest place on it."  
  
"Well, you're certainly in the right place then miss," he chuckled. "Enjoy those races – they're the high-light of our calendar – though they do bring in a devil-lot of work!" He waved, and returned to his horse, and I walked off with a farewell. Just before I lost sight of the two of them, I saw the younger one following me with his eyes as I walked, and flushed slightly. I'd never be able to get used to all these stares.  
  
The hamlet was so quiet because of the races, as when I managed to enter the second paddock, I saw a huge crowd of people standing along a marked track, cheering on the riders as they rounded the last corner. I was jostled by the crowd, and pushed my way to the edges by the wall so that I could catch my breath. Someone stumbled towards me, panting and laughing as they made their way out of the throng, and I had to step out of the way to avoid a collision.  
  
"Oops – sorry!" the red-haired girl giggled some more. "Good races, hey?"  
  
"Yeah, pretty good," I answered, having to force the words past a lump in my throat as I stared at a girl who could have been Malon's twin. She even had the same bright blue eyes, and the lilting laugh. I wondered if this might be one of Link's grandchildren, and panicked a little, in case he was here as well.  
  
"You look a little spooked – you all right?" she waved a hand in front of my eyes, and I started.  
  
"Oh – yes, I'm fine. Just wondering – are you any relation to Lord Link?" [It feels _weird_ to call him a Lord.] She pouted, and nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I'm his granddaughter. Name's Melissa," she held out a hand, and managed to pump my whole arm up and down whilst she shook it. "And don't bother with any of that milady stuff – you want to do that, find my sister Anika – she's the posh one."  
  
"Blaise," I said, falling straight back into my old guise as I panicked.  
  
"What? How cool! That was the name of the girl that helped my grandfather against Ganondorf!"  
  
"Oh, really?" I asked in mock surprise – she didn't seem to register it.  
  
"You're not from around here, are you?" she asked, stepping back, and looking me up and down.  
  
"You're the second person who's said that – is it really so obvious?"  
  
"Just a bit – when someone comes around wearing such drab colours, we do wonder about them. And a tunic? You look like someone from the Royal Guard!" she glimpsed my sword. "Oh – you're not are you?"  
  
I shook my head, and laughed slightly, "No – why?"  
  
"Oh good! Sorry, I just thought if you were, it might be a summons for me to come back to the palace. And I'm enjoying the races way too much to go back now!" She was practically jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh, come on, there's another race starting – if we're quick, we'll be able to get up to the front." She grabbed my hand without so much as a 'by-your-leave', and proceeded to drag both herself and me to the front.

* * *

I'd never really watched races before, but the atmosphere was so jolly that I couldn't help but to enjoy myself. Soon, I was cheering with the rest, and Melissa was giving me a brief tutorage about the rules and highlights of racing in the intervals between the end of a race and the beginning of the next one. Somewhere along the way, I managed to let out the fact that I needed a horse, and she laughed loudly.  
  
"I should be able to help you out with that – the current owner's son seems to have a liking for my sister – and I suppose I could put on a few airs to make him think I'm her." I chuckled in disbelief at her scheming nature, and threw an arm over her shoulder as we left the crowd again, this time to go and find the said son.  
  
"You, girl, are a veritable little fiend," I smiled, and she winked at me.  
  
"I know! Now, come on, I think that's him over there!" she pointed to a young man standing by a long trough, holding the reins of two horses whilst their riders readied themselves. He was a shy looking thing, and had his shoulders hunched so far upwards that the lobes of his ears disappeared into the bunched collar of his shirt. "Um – you'd better let go," Melissa decided, shrugging my arm off. "Wouldn't do for him to see me acting like a normal person after all. Wait here." She straightened herself up, and smoothed the skirt of her dress, before striding purposefully over to the unfortunate boy.  
  
I followed behind at a distance, coming just close enough so that I could see (and hear, if I strained my ears) what was going on. The boy had relinquished his charges to the riders, and was looking enviously after him, when Melissa gave a little cough to gain his attention. "Ah!" he jumped and turned around – his eyes widened when he saw her, and an immediate blush ran across his face. "An-Anika! So nice to s-see y-you again," he stuttered, bowing swiftly. Melissa pulled a face, but wiped it away when he rose again from his bow.  
  
"Marvellous to see you too," she said dryly, and I admired the transformation she had made. "I was just wondering whether it would be possible for a lady-friend of mine to purchase a horse?"  
  
"Of course – we'll be selling them from tomorrow at dawn, if she'd care to- "  
  
"Lovely, lovely, but she would really prefer to gain her steed today, if possible." The young man bit his lip, and drew tiny circles on the dusty ground with the toe of his boot. "Well?"  
  
"I – I suppose I could make the sale....."  
  
"Very good," she smiled, and seemingly on impulse, placed a kiss on his cheek. I had to retain a laugh as the boy bought a hand up to his cheek, and seemed to space out for a few seconds before coming to.  
  
"Yes – uh – if you and your friend would like to come this way.....?" He turned, and began to make his way to the third paddock, where I guessed the stock horses were being kept. Melissa turned around and beckoned me to follow. I hurried over, and raised an eyebrow at her.  
  
"What?" she hissed. "You're trying to tell me he's not cute?" she nodded to the quivering boy in front of us, and I just raised an eyebrow yet again.  
  
"I think I'm too old to pass judgement," I whispered. She shook her head, and then we came to the gate into the third paddock.  
  
"Feel free to look around until you find a beast you like," the boy said to me, being able to speak stutter free now that he wasn't looking directly at Melissa (well, in his eyes, he was looking at Anika).  
  
I didn't look around for long, however. Straight away, I spotted a horse that looked rather like my old steed, Nostawen – a beautiful palomino mare. [Demons, why is everything the same?] I briefly wondered, before carefully making my way towards the animal so as not to scare it. I reached out a hand, and lay it on the long mane, using my other hand to pat its muzzle. "This horse," I began, and the boy rushed over. "Is it from the same stock as the fabled Nostawen?" He looked surprised at my guess.  
  
"Yeah, she is – how did you know that?"  
  
"Just a guess," I smiled. "How much would you consider selling her for?"  
  
"Well, we haven't really set a price on her yet – but, off the top of my head, three hundred rupees?" I smiled internally – now, here was something I knew a lot about.  
  
"Three hundred? No, I'll give you two hundred, and not a rupee more!"  
  
"Two hundred and ninety."  
  
"Two hundred and twenty."  
  
"Two hundred and sixty."  
  
"Two hundred and forty, and that's my last bid."  
  
"Deal," he took my hand and shook it. "But, if you add an extra ten rupees, I'll throw in shoes and a saddle."  
  
"All right then, so two hundred and fifty." I fished one of the golden rupees out of my pocket, and heard a gasp from Melissa. The boy turned to look at her, and she looked up at the sky, pretending not to have made a noise. I handed the rupee to the boy, and then fished out the fifty in small change I had. [This only leaves me with that gold rupee to try and buy food with – what fun!]  
  
"If you come back in half an hour, I'll have her all saddled, shoed, and ready to go, OK?"  
  
"That'll be perfect." [Now I just have to remember exactly how to ride one of those things again.] "Milady? Shall we go back to the races?" I called to Melissa, who smiled devilishly at me, and we made our way out of the third paddock and back to the second.  
  
"Um – wait a minute!" the boy called quietly, and Melissa turned around, placing a suitably disgusted look on her face as he caught her arm. "I was just – just wondering how Anika is today your ladyship." A small grin appeared on his face as Melissa's jaw dropped. "I have to say, the kiss on the cheek gave you away Melissa."  
  
"Damn," she cursed, and then looked back up at him. "Oh well, I can still order you around – so, come and watch the races with us."  
  
"Well, if I really must....."  
  
"You must," she growled, and then tugged him along. I dropped behind in such a way that they did not miss me, and went back to third paddock. I didn't want to intrude – and I was getting nervous around all those people, since I apparently stuck out like a sore thumb..... It was best for me to leave quickly. And I could saddle the horse myself – I had done it before after all. [But what if you can't remember?]  
  
[Well, if I can't, it looks like I'll have to ride bareback.]

* * *

Luckily, I _could_ remember how to saddle a horse properly, and I even took the time to adjust the stirrups to around about the right length for my height before hopping onto the mare's back. I wondered what it was called, and then decided it didn't matter; I'd probably end up calling her Nostawen anyway. Obviously, the boy who had sold her to me had told the other Ranch workers that I had purchased the horse, as none of them tried to waylay me as I made my way through the three successive paddocks.  
  
In the hamlet, the blacksmiths were still working hard in the bright sunlight, and the one I had spoken to looked up. Some surprise ghosted over his face as he saw that I had managed to purchase a horse. Then, he collected himself, and called, "Need any shoes for the horse miss?" I realised that in my hurry to leave, I had not gotten the shoes I paid for. It didn't matter; I was sure to have enough money to pay for them anyway.  
  
"Yes, I do. Would you be able to do them now? I'm planning on travelling quite a way."  
  
"Aye, of course – I'll get my assistant here to shod the horse for you – I'll have to keep up with the racers." He turned around, and yelled into the large smithy behind, which was glowing and emanating a vast amount of heat from the furnaces within. "Philip, get out here, you've a customer!" The younger smithy exited, taking a pair of rudely crafted goggles from his eyes, which left two perfectly white circles of skin, surrounded by sooty blackness. The other threw a rag at him, and hissed, "Clean yourself up boy!"  
  
The apprentice wiped the grime from his features, and I registered that he didn't look quite Hylian – there was something in the lithe walk he had that spoke of something else. Something at the back of my mind, just out of reach, and I frowned as I tried to figure it out. I climbed off of the horse carefully, so as not to fall and make an idiot of myself, and then handed the reins to the smithy. "Fine creature you have here," he commented as he picked up one of the hooves to inspect it. "This blood-line has great endurance – prone to bursts of speed that could rival the great Epona, some say."  
  
"That's just why I chose it." I leant on the wall just as I had done earlier in the day, and watched him at his work. "How do you know which size shoes they'll need without measuring?" I asked curiously, as he finished checking the last hoof. He just tapped his forehead, and grinned,  
  
"All the measuring gets done up here – me and Pete here have been working with horses so long, we don't need to measure anymore."  
  
"How long have you worked with the horses then?"  
  
"Pete's worked with them for about twelve years – me – ten."  
  
"Wow....."  
  
"Aye – it's a good job though, even if it is devilish-hot in summer."  
  
"I can imagine – it could probably rival the desert wastelands!"  
  
"Nah, definitely hotter," he quipped, patting the horse (who I decided then and there to call Nostawen to save time) on the flank. "'Scuse – I've just got to go and make the shoes for her. Go and have a drink or something in the tavern across the way, and I'll be done by the time you get back."  
  
"All right – thanks!" I headed to the tavern as he had said, and after a dubious linger on the doorstep, made my way inside.  
  
Luckily, due to the races, there weren't that many people within. There were a few farmer children, who were sipping flagons of lemonade and eating large chunks of some chocolate cake in one corner. At the bar, there was one man who looked as though he might have always been there – his nose was red and his eyes bloodshot, no doubt from too much drink. The man next to him was not much better, as he was lying sprawled across the wooden bar, snoring quietly. A shadowy person sat at a table in the darkest corner, a cloak obscuring their face, and I cursed, as that was the corner I would have chosen to sit in.  
  
A buxom, middle-aged barmaid smiled tiredly at me. "What can I get you dear?"  
  
"Just a pint of mead will do – and some bread if you've got it." I was ridiculously hungry, after having gotten used to a life back at home with three meals a day. She just nodded, and poured me a pint of mead, which she handed to me, before going into the storeroom to get me some bread. I took that as well, and then fished into my pockets for the golden rupee. [Damn, maybe I should have paid the smithy first.]  
  
"Oh, don't bother dear," she said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't really work here," she said with a sly grin. "I'm just repaying my dearest husband who ran off with some wench – handing out freebies whilst he's off at the races is always fun." I gaped at her, and she laughed heartily. With a half-smile, I turned away to go and sit in the corner, by the window that looked out onto the hamlet. I kept my head down, and turned away from the main part of the inn as I ate and drank the free food. It was pretty good stuff, though I felt slightly light-headed when I had finished drinking, and had to counter it with a sharp pinch to the skin on the back of my hand.  
  
Looking to the smithies, I saw that the apprentice had kept his word, because he was just putting down his hammer and nails, and once again patting the flank of Nostawen, having finished his work. I pushed back the chair I sat on, and walked around the table at which I had sat in order to get to the door which led out of the tavern. The shadowy someone who had been sitting in the corner got up as well, and moved to the bar – I had the distinct feeling that they were watching me from beneath their cloak, and hurried outside and across the street to the smithy's.  
  
"Here you are miss, all shod and ready to go," the apprentice said as I arrived back.  
  
"Thanks – how much?"  
  
"Oh – twenty rupees, five for each shoe." I didn't argue – that was a damn good price.  
  
"Uh – this is all I have," I said a little apologetically, pulling out the golden rupee. His eyes widened, and I finally realised what it was that was different about him. His eyes were a blood red, and only one people had blood red eyes – he was obviously of Sheikah lineage, if not fully Sheikah.  
  
"Blimey! You bought this horse, and still have that much left over? How much did you pay for it?"  
  
"Two hundred and fifty."  
  
"Are you some kind of foreign high class or something?" he asked curiously. I just shook my head,  
  
"Nah – I just get good funding from friends and relatives." He just nodded gormlessly, and took the rupee into the workshop – about a minute later, he came back out with a pouch that jangled with small change.  
  
"Uh – this is all we have, but, it's all there," he assured me as I opened the bag. I reached in, and took out a blue rupee, and handed it to him. "What's this.....?"  
  
"For being so damned quick," I said, leading Nostawen out of the work area, and arranging the reins back into place. He just stuttered his thanks, and I waved my hand to show that it was no problem. Then, I swung up into the saddle, feeling proud that I had fallen back into riding so quickly, and dug my heels into Nostawen's sides. She sped forwards at a fast canter, and I smiled as a cool breeze whipped across my skin. [Ah, that feels nice.]  
  
But, the sound of hoofbeats was doubled suddenly, and turning my head, I saw the dark someone from the tavern also upon a horse – not going so fast for me to be sure that they were following me, but they were keeping pace. One hand was clutched to the front of their cloak to stop it falling back, and I panicked somewhat. I was away from the hamlet now, so I couldn't go and hide there – so, in order to check whether they were following me, I broke away from the path, and began, cross-country, towards Gerudo valley.  
  
To my great relief, they did not follow, and stuck to the path, quickly disappearing over a rise in the land. [I'm beginning to get paranoid.] I shook my head, and took the horse back onto the path at a medium trot, taking the time to relax, and allow the mead to circulate a little more through my body to make me drowsy. Coupled with the light of the sun, which was softening as it reached close to setting, the journey was proving to be a pleasurable one.  
  
It was then that the second pair of hoofbeats came back, and I realised with a start that whoever the rider was, they had duped me into believing they had gone, and were now forcing their horse to come at me full gallop. With a shriek, I managed to wheel Nostawen around, and, since the forest was the closest place to go right now, that was where I went, urging Nostawen faster, and faster still. "Go on!" I looked over my shoulder to still find my pursuer close behind. [Shit! Who the hell are they?]  
  
"Come on, come on!" I whispered to the horse, and she let out a huge burst of speed, lengthening the gap between my follower and me. I could see the edge of the forest up ahead, and soon enough, at the speed I was going, I was within it, and Nostawen had to dart in and around the trees. The follower fell behind even more, and I heard them curse loudly as they finally had to stop.  
  
I bought Nostawen down until she was standing still, and then slid off of the saddle, and tied her to a tree branch, which was obscured by a large holly bush on two sides, so hopefully, whoever it was following me, wouldn't be able to see my horse. Then, carefully, I began to creep towards the edge of the forest, to see who had followed me. About a hundred yards from the edge, my assailant came into view, with the reins of his horse in his hands, and panting slightly.  
  
"Goddesses damn it, what's wrong with me? I've just chased a woman across the field, even when I knew it couldn't possibly be her!" he yelled angrily towards his horse, which just snorted uncaringly. "What was I thinking?" he leant against the ruddy brown horse's side, and sighed heavily. "Come on, let's get back to the palace. We'll go the long way round so I can lose this blasted cloak."  
  
They reached up and took their cloak off, and an indigo bodysuit came into view, with off-white bandages wrapped across the chest, and a red eye of truth emblazoned over them. There was a facemask obscuring the bottom part of his face, and his red eyes had deepened slightly since I last saw him. I must have let out a gasp, or made a sound, because he turned around, his ears pricked. "Who's there?" he called, his hand quickly reaching down for one of the twin swords on his right side. I held my breath, and he shrugged. "Now I'm hearing things....." he climbed quickly upon his horse, and lay the cloak over the saddle horn in front of him. "Hyahh!"  
  
And just like that, he was gone.  
  
"Sheik," I whispered the name softly under my breath, and then rose from my hiding place, and made my way back to Nostawen. [So he's still alive – and immortal by the looks of things.....I wonder if all Sheikah are?] It wasn't as though I was liable to get the chance to ask though, so I brushed that thought aside, instead focusing on the more important fact at hand; Sheik had seen me. Luckily, he just thought it was someone like me, and he'd just scared some random woman. But – demons, if he found out that I am here!  
  
I rubbed my temples and sighed deeply. [Why does everything seem to get more and more complicated the longer I'm here?] I brushed away the tender thoughts that were begging to crowd into my mind concerning Sheik, and pushed away the many memories clamouring for attention. It wouldn't do to lose my focus in those kind of thoughts right now. For the moment, I still had to make my way to lake Hylia, hopefully before the sun went down, in order to set up camp there.  
  
[At least I know he's going back to the palace.] That meant I wouldn't have to worry about him – hang on! [To the palace? But Loki said he hadn't.....] It hit me. Of course, Loki would have wanted to try and protect me from that fact that Sheik was still alive, and even worse, looked almost exactly as he had when I last saw him – even down the messy hairstyle. [Well, it didn't work.] I was finally back with Nostawen now, and I climbed onto her back.  
  
"It's all right girl, no more running tonight, I promise." I led her at a fast walk through the trees and back out onto the field. "This would be so much easier if we could warp there," I mused out loud, and Nostawen let out a snort. "Nice to know you agree," I said.

* * *

At long last, I came through the large opening in the cliff faces, to see the expanse of lake Hylia spreading out away from me, reflecting the dying rays of the sun in a kaleidoscope of reds and oranges. A proper road had been built down here, and there were a few pleasure boats moored to a small jetty, which extended about six feet out over the water. All the tourists had seemingly gone home for the day, as had the tour operators, so I was alone on the shore, with only the sounds of the birds as they came home to roost for the evening to break the silence.  
  
I slowed Nostawen right down, and gazed out over the clear, deep waters, remembering when this had just been a lakebed, and the joy we had all felt when we had refilled it. And, out at the great water's centre, I could see the same island from which Sheik had carelessly plunged into the water below, scaring the three of us to death. [So many memories here,] I thought a little sadly, as I made my away from the professor's house along the shore. "Whoa girl," I said, and pulled Nostawen to a stop. I listened hard, as I thought I had heard a second set of hoofbeats again – however, everything was silent, and I shook my head. "Now I'm going mad."  
  
I took us a few hundred yards further, before stopping again, and getting down from my steed. Here seemed as good a place as any to lie down and sleep – there was even a copse of trees nearby, so that I could tie Nostawen up for the night. I lead her over, and removed the saddle from her back, placing it on the ground beside her. Then, I took the reins, and pulled them so that they were one long tether, one end of which I tied to a sturdy tree branch. As soon as I moved back and out of the way, she bent her head to begin cropping the grass around the trees.  
  
I walked away a short distance, and then lay straight down upon the grass, which was just as comfortable as it looked. As I watched, stars began to appear in the darkening sky – the first of which was the constellation which made up 'the Hero'. Next to come out were 'the Lion', and then the pole stars. I admired their quiet twinkling beauty, and shifted slightly into a more comfortable position from which I could crane up and look at the sky.  
  
[This place is so peaceful – I just can't let it fall into darkness again. I'm going to get this carrier, get the pieces together somehow, make her have the correct wish, and then I can leave without too many noticing I was here. Especially not Sheik..... He doesn't deserve to have to see me again after all the lies I told.] I was surprised to find tears jerk into my eyes as I had that thought, and wiped them away in annoyance.  
  
Knowing that I wouldn't be able to escape all the memories forever, I crossed my arms behind my head, and carried on looking up at the stars as they one-by-one came into existence in the sky above. When the 'Zoran Songster' burst into life in the heavens above, I was caught by a vivid memory that I was not able to blot out.  
  
_"Do you know any of the constellations?" Sheik asked out of the blue, looking at me. I shook my head,  
  
"No - no one ever thought to tell me any," I shrugged, and then craned upwards again. I felt a hand creeping towards my own, and then Sheik lifted my whole arm to point at a cluster of stars towards the West._   
  
I gasped as I managed to cut the memory short, and sat up, breathing heavily, kneading the balls of my palms into my forehead. "Stop it 'lex. You don't need to start that again," I berated myself, and let out a heavy sigh. It seemed I was doing a lot of sighing recently. I kept my eyes shut for a few seconds, and then opened them again, this time looking at the reflections of the stars in the water of the lake. A slight breeze was causing ripples across the water, which distorted the image, and I turned away.  
  
With a wide yawn, I turned onto my side and curled up on the grass, intent on getting some sleep. Then, I opened my eyes with a start. What was I doing? Out here, anyone would catch sight of me – I stood up (unwillingly, as I had managed to get quite comfortable), and made my way over to the copse. There, I stepped around Nostawen, who had gone down onto her knees in the way that horses do to sleep. Then, I made my way a few paces into the copse itself, before lying down again.  
  
The ground wasn't quite so comfortable here, as it was littered with twigs and dead leaves. I had to stand up again, and used to toe of my boot to push the debris out of the way, so that I had a clear space on which to sleep. When I was satisfied that I wouldn't get scratched to death whilst I slept, I lay down. Nothing was going to move me now, and I closed my eyes, curled into a tight ball, and fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

* * *

_And, that folks, will be it for now, because on Friday (the fifth August 2003), I am going on holiday (at last!) and I'm not going to be back for two weeks. However, I think two chapters (and you know how long these things are) in one day, is quite the achievement!  
  
I apologise if this chapter seemed to drag a little bit – I was trying to show a bit of the transition from the Hyrule she knew, to the one that it is now – but this just ended up being a linking chapter. Damn..... I promise that the next one is going to have a little more action at least! (Apologies for this one.....ick – this one took me four hours – and the other only took me two!)  
  
RR, and I'll see you all when I get back!  
  
Soda _


	4. Tranquilised

**Thievery  
**  
_Disclaimer: Take a wild guess..... (And Weird One2, it's not the Link to the Past storyline – though I may steal ideas from there.....I've never managed to play it all the way through to be honest [lol].)  
  
Hello everyone! I'm so sorry this took so long, but I was on holiday, and then when I came back, my computer had been decimated by a virus, so I had to disconnect from the net, and then reload my modem and argh! Has been awful, but I'm back now, and I'm going to give you the two chapters I scribbled out in my notebook in the spare moments during the blasted holiday of mine.  
  
Alexis fell asleep by lake Hylia – and – uh, that's about all that happened last chapter [blush]. Sorry, that was a horrid one, I know, but this one will make up for it. [Squeals ever so loudly] SHEIK! [Giggles].  
  
[] = Alexis' thoughts. Italics = memories_

* * *

* * *

I awoke to a raucous cacophony of voices drifting from some distance away through the otherwise-still morning air. The last scraps of sunrise were eddying away on a brisk southerly breeze, and the sun could be seen in all it's glorious entirety above the waters of the lake, a yellow orb of brilliance. Sitting up, the first thing that really registered in the forefront of my mind was [Ow! My back is killing me]. I reached to the base of my spine, and rubbed some kind of feeling back into it - I also removed a few twigs and leaves I had overlooked the night before from where they stuck to my hair and clothes.  
  
Looking around, I had to peer through the last dregs of mist from the night to try and determine from where the voices originated. As I had suspected, all the noise was coming from the jetty I had spied the previous day. The businessmen - for it was obvious that was what they were - were converged in a small group, laughing and talking genially like old friends. Which, I supposed by the wear on both jetty and boats, that they all must be.  
  
It was as they started heading onto their own boats and readying oars and sails, that I realised I would have to move, and soon. Lest, of course, I was to be caught within this copse whilst waiting for the customers and tourists to leave. [Not bloody likely] I thought, and began replacing the saddle onto the new Nostawen. [I suppose a few tradesmen seeing me won't really matter in the scheme of things.] Slight panic rose up when an entourage of horses galloped along the shore from the pass, and I wondered just how early some tourists were willing to get out of bed. But, as I watched, I saw that only two of the entourage held riders. They reeled to a halt by the jetty, and one of the riders plunged a sign into the ground - I could read it easily from where I stood. 'Horse rides - five rupees/half hour.'  
  
[Thank demons.....] I didn't really fancy dallying any longer, lest the tourists _did_ turn up. So, after passing a last check over the saddle harness, so that it wouldn't slip as much as it had the day before, I led Nostawen a short distance away from the trees. There, I stopped, and placed one foot into the stirrup at her left flank, bounced twice to gain momentum, and swung my leg over the saddle to seat myself. The men around the jetty didn't seem to notice, and I kicked Nostawen into a steady gallop, "Hyahh!" As we went past, I felt a few pairs of eyes boring into my back, but didn't turn. [If you turn, they will know your face again,] I told the old adage to myself.  
  
"Hey!" I almost fell from the saddle in shock at the exclamation. "You! Hey, the horse!" I finally had to turn, and realised that he didn't mean my horse, but one of the horses from the entourage seemed to have broken away. I wheeled Nostawen around to face the skittery horse, and cut it off. It reared and whinnied, to which Nostawen snorted and shook her mane. "Thanks - just keep 'im there and I'll be ri' over!" The horse didn't seem to want to go anywhere, and I just waited for the tradesman to retrieve it.  
  
"Thanks for tha' - you saved me," he panted, reigning his own horse, and then tossing a lasso easily over the escapee's neck.  
  
"Don't mention it," I said distractedly, and made to turn for a quick exit.  
  
"Wai' a minute - don'tcha wan' to stick 'round? This is one o' the best spots in Hyrule."  
  
"I don't like crowds," I said dryly, throat tightening as I noticed his red eyes; the Sheikah had indeed prospered.  
  
"Me neither," he said, tone lowered. "Not me people's nature for crowds....."  
  
"Sheikah you mean?" I queried politely, and he nodded. "Well, it's not my people's nature either." [Blatant lie, but he'll never know.] He looked a little bemused, obviously believing me to be a normal Hylian - damn. "And I have a long way to travel, so I must be going," this was another lie, and I was shocked at how easily it tripped from my tongue. [Though I suppose I've had a hell of a lot of practice.]  
  
"Well, if you really 'ave to go....." he sounded a little downhearted, but I just couldn't stick around. I nodded, and was about to turn Nostawen, when the blasted runaway horse reared again, and this time it sent Nostawen into a short fury of panic. I was thrown from the saddle like I was nothing more than a rag-doll, and my glasses spiralled off and shattered.  
  
[Not _another_ pair!] I bought my arms up over my head to block any possible blows, and waited for the danger to pass.  
  
"You all ri'?!" the rider thudded to the floor next to me, and bent down to help me up. "'e never norm'lly be'aves like tha'....." he slowed down drastically at the end of the sentence, and stared straight into my eyes.  
  
[Damn glasses.] I bent down and picked up the wrecked frames from the ground. "Yes.....well. No harm done - I really must be going."  
  
"Yes.....right," he nodded as though in a trance.  
  
"Bye."  
  
"Bye."  
  
And I swung back onto Nostawen and kicked her forwards before he could regain his composure. As we raced forwards across the shore towards the pass, I whispered a few calming words into her turned-back ears. All that ran through my mind was a terrible sense of foreboding - which, no matter what I did, I could not shake.

* * *

After about half an hour, I felt as though I was a safe enough distance away to allow Nostawen some brief respite. The day was turning into a hazy one, and it was bound to get very much hotter before long. [What do I wear when the heat becomes too much to bear?] I wondered, and this was followed in quick succession by [It will have to make you fit in.] And, I could think of only two conceivable places from which I could get these new garments; Kakariko, or the Castle-Town. This didn't make things any easier.....  
  
On the one hand, I had to take into account the importance of secrecy – it would be less likely that I would be spotted in Kakariko. [And yet – there are so many memories there.]  
  
_"We were just getting ready," Sheik said defensively.  
  
"And we're ready now!" Link beamed proudly. I shook my head in disbelief.  
  
The scene was something like this. Link was wearing the dress Eloise had made for him back to front _and_ inside out. This meant that the white part was showing instead of the green. And, he had gotten hold of some of the stage make-up I'd purchased from one of the stalls in the out skirts. His eyes were painted a sickening green, and he had two spots of rouge on each cheek.  
  
Sheik hadn't done much better. He _had_ at least managed to put the dress on correctly, but his hair, which he'd obviously tried to braid, was sticking straight up. He'd painted his lips so clumsily that he looked like a clown, and the less said about the whiteness of his face due to powder, the better. Navi was laughing weakly, trying to draw breath, but failing, as every time she looked at them, a new tide of giggles took over. I picked her up, and set her down outside the door to calm down._   
  
That particular memory still managed to bring a smile to my face. I decided, what the hell, there was no point worrying about the past anyway. The past couldn't be saved.....but the future could, and that was what I was going to do.  
  
Nostawen didn't seem to tire at all, but I gave her a rest nevertheless. It wouldn't do for me to have a won out steed and be caught out if I needed to flee quickly. So I walked along beside the mare, silent as I thought about how by demons I was going to explain to this fifteen-year-old otherworld girl exactly what was going on. Each explanation started off well enough; 'Hello, I'm Blaise (or whatever alias I use this time), this is Hyrule, the land from your old legends – all of which are true by the way.' After that, it went downhill – how do you explain to someone that they are a tool or device to be used in order to save a world?  
  
I had no idea how I was going to tell the poor girl; she'd probably be terrified out of her wits when she arrived. [I just hope she cooperates.] I wouldn't have the time to spare to play babysitter. Nor would I be able to stop worrying constantly until all of this was over. [Great – simply wonderful for my blood pressure.....] At least she'd be the only extra I'd have to worry about this time – and it's easier to hide yourself from one person's perspective.....  
  
A chill passed through me suddenly, and the air around me was silent and grey – Nostawen seemed to disappear from my side, though I knew that a second before, I had been holding her reins tightly in my right hand. The chill began to spread, pulling a black wool over my eyes and forcing them closed. I _knew_ this feeling, I was sure I remembered it from somewhere.....the trouble was.....all of a sudden, it was difficult to remember things. I swayed, and the world swayed with me, turning over as I fell, the ground replacing the sky in my blurred view.  
  
A vague shadow, that looked like something I knew came towards me. It was making a lot of noise, and more and more like it were joining in the advance. The sounds were just as blurry as my vision, and I closed my eyes to stop things spinning and concentrate on the sounds. ".....stuff's effective. Maybe too much.....?"  
  
"Rubbish! She's down isn't she?" It was easier to listen with my eyes closed.  
  
"Still, it better not do no damage!"  
  
"If it does, then I'll.....fool!" The tone was excitable and menacing, but the words were fading in and out.  
  
"The drugs are safe," this voice held perfect clarity – and now I could place the feelings I felt..... I'd been sedated with a dart to the back of my neck. I reached up to the nape of my neck to confirm this, with slow, wavering fingers. There it was – a small, feather-tipped dart – so tiny that I hadn't noticed it when it pierced.  
  
"Hey.....awake!" words were phasing in and out again now, and everything sounded as though I were hearing it through water.  
  
"Get her.....that horse too." Even the voice that had had perfect clarity was going now. Hands grabbed me firmly by the arms, and I was carried a short distance before being dropped down again.  
  
"Check eyes.....don't want wrong one again.....not after last....." One of my eyelids was pulled up, and the sudden light burned into my unready eye. "Right one?"  
  
"Aye, it's the right one all right!" I was picked up again, and flung unceremoniously into some kind of cart (or so I guessed). It began to move forwards, and I prayed to the Golden Goddesses – hoping that they'd listen to me – to help me through whatever was going to happen next.  
  
"Another dart?" one of my captors asked to a superior.  
  
".....alert still? Aye." I flinched, but was unable to move myself out of the way before another dart was ministered. "I hope he's happy with this." I took 'this' to mean me.  
  
".....said their kind's dangerous – he'll be happy enough."  
  
".....wouldn't want to get on his bad side.....!"  
  
"Who would? .....Sheik we're talking about here!"  
  
[Sheik?!] Blackness took precedence, and I heard no more.

* * *

* * *

The same thing woke me as had woken me in the morning – though, this time, the voices were hushed and quite nearby. I sat bolt upright, which startled the talkers into silence. "What in all demons am I here for?" I asked them, whilst studying my surroundings sleepily. I appeared to be in some crude form of jail, and there were iron bars between my captors and me. Both of them looked to be Hylian (judging by eye colour), and one of them was looking fearfully between his companion and me.  
  
"T' boss said you kind was dangerous miss," the braver of the two answered. "An' he don't like dangerous people to be wanderin' 'round like."  
  
"I'm not dangerous!" I protested.  
  
"Ahh, but you would say that," he said knowingly with a grin. To my annoyance, I saw that my weapons had been removed from me, and were set on the floor beside the table at which the two of them sat.  
  
"Fine – call me dangerous....." I muttered reproachfully. "Where's my horse?"  
  
"Safely stabled – if you're given t' all clear by t' boss, you can get her an' go."  
  
"Who's this 'boss' of yours?" I stood up groggily, and rubbed the sore spot at the back of my neck, where I had slept on it at a funny angle.  
  
The man tapped his nose and grinned infuriatingly. I was about to pose the question again, when a door slammed open somewhere, and both of them on the other side of the bars turned their heads to the right. "You're about to fin' ou'." Both of them withdrew, respectfully bowing to the 'boss', and leaving the viewing square of the front of the cell. I straightened my tunic and flattened my hair, trying to arrange myself to look as un- menacing as possible.  
  
The 'boss' was clad in simple brown and dark blue riding clothes, which were travel-worn and dusty. He swung a set of keys in one hand, and didn't even look at me as he moved to unlock the door. "I'm terribly sorry about this miss – my men are complete imbeciles, and I hope they haven't interrupted any important mission of yours." It sounded as though he had given this speech a thousand times. "Again, sorry for any inconven-" he finally looked up, and stopped mid-speech. I stared back at him with a mixture of shock, fear and a tiny uplifting flutter in my stomach, which I quickly quashed.  
  
He swiftly removed the key from the lock (which was still keeping me in) and placed the ring of them on a hook on the wall behind him. Then, he stood directly in front of the bars, one gauntleted hand wrapped around him, and his head on one side. The years had certainly worn him down, but they had not been too unkind – though he looked weary, he was still as handsome as he ever was. [Sheik.....oh Goddesses.....] I looked down at the ground so that my face was as shadowed as it could be.  
  
"Come – come forwards, over here – so I can – see," he said, seeming to find it hard to create a coherent sentence. I complied, head still kept stubbornly down, but I was now so close to the bars that he could see anyway. The smallest of smiles flickered over his face, before being replaced by an angry scowl. "Why are you here?" he demanded coldly, having regained himself after the initial shock.  
  
"There's trouble," I answered in a similarly bland tone. "I'm here to clear it up."  
  
"Oh – and what are you pretending to be this time? A concerned tourist who helps corral horses?" he asked bitterly.  
  
"So that's how your men found me....." I mused aloud, dodging the question.  
  
"Aye – well, if you will insist on sticking out like a sore thumb," another of the ghost smiles came to his face. "But why _are_ you here? What more trouble could Hyrule be getting?" he looked concerned.  
  
"Ganondorf," I answered simply, expecting him to scoff.  
  
"I thought as much," he murmured. "The visions are the same as last time....." He glared at me. "How do you plan to combat him alone, and without the power of the Master Sword?"  
  
"Can't say – just let me out, and you can go back to your perfect peaceful little life," I hissed the last part.  
  
"Perfect? You think that this excuse of a life I have been given could be anything close to perfect? When I've seen people tortured and killed to die before my eyes? And I haven't been able to save them. And when I've been betrayed by someone who I-" he cut himself off and sighed heavily. "You're coming to the palace – Link and Thelia have to know."  
  
"No – they mustn't!" I exclaimed desperately.  
  
He raised an eyebrow coolly. "And pray tell, why is that?"  
  
[Because I don't want them to know I may be the one to kill them] I thought. But, I said, "Because there's no point panicking people, when I can sort things out quietly."  
  
"I would have thought you might at least want to see him," he said, and then growled. "Though, I suppose you care for him just as little as you did me." I bit back the immediate angry response that rose in my throat to say that that wasn't true, and blinked quickly to prevent myself from showing the hurt that one comment inflicted.  
  
"Yeah – that's right. I didn't give a damn about either of you, and I still don't," I declared stoutly, staring at his twitching fingers around the bars. "So let me out, so I don't have to be bothered by your annoying whining!" [This would be so much more convincing if I wasn't shaking so much.....]  
  
The lock clicked open, and he stepped aside to let me out of the door. I picked up my weaponry, and pushed past him without looking at his face. It was easy enough to find my way out, and the stable was just opposite the door. I stepped outside, stopped, and fought the urge to go back in. Footsteps behind me told me that Sheik was following. "Don't worry – I'll make sure Hyrule's safe, and then I'll leave this awful place," I called darkly over my shoulder.  
  
His hand on my shoulder stopped me from making my quick escape. "Goddesses, you're a terrible liar," he said with a small laugh.  
  
"I have to lie to be able to get anywhere," I shrugged the hand off and turned to face him. "Look, we're both grownups here, so why don't you just let me get on with my job, and you can get on with your life?" He didn't manage to find an answer, other than to fix me under a baleful glare. "Bye Sheik," I turned briskly and entered the stable block, walking along the stalls until I came to the one which held Nostawen. Luckily, she had not been unsaddled, so I was able to take her out and mount straight away.  
  
He stood waiting at the entrance, and watched as I trotted out. "Bye....." he called quietly, but made no more attempt than that.  
  
[Not that I blame him.....] I carried on without looking back, my knuckles going white and beginning to loose all feeling as I grasped the reins tightly in my hands. A slight sound of movement made me panic, as I didn't want to have to drag all the old feelings up again, and I urged Nostawen into a sprint out of Kakariko. It had grown and changed since I had last been here, so after a few streets, I had to stop to try and gain my bearings.  
  
Eventually, I managed to find a sort of signpost system that had appeared since the rebuilding, and discovered I didn't have far to go – only a few more rows of houses were between the gate and me. So, I slowed Nostawen down, and plodded through the crowded streets, dodging stalls and beggars, all the time squinting to keep my eye colour hidden. As we went along, I strapped my weapons on again, which earned a few strange looks (which I pretended not to notice).  
  
Finally, finally, I exited the blasted town, with all it's memories bombarding me, and was out into the vast emptiness of the field. And yet, I couldn't escape memories even here, and felt despair wash over me. [No where's safe – shit – why me?] I kicked Nostawen forwards again to put some distance between myself and the cursed village. [Loki – demons, I have to talk to him. A friendly face is what I need right now.] I decided to talk to him as soon as I found a suitable place, and the decision put some perspective on the situation, which calmed me a little.  
  
[He didn't even ask me how I'd been.....where I'd been. Though, I suppose he can't much care after all that happened. Still.....I would have though he might have been a little more pleased to find me still alive.] I was caught by a cool gust of spring air, and thought back to the night of snow before it all came crashing down. [There's so much hurt between us; it could never all be set right. I'll just be happy that we're both alive.....]  
  
I must have spent many, many hours lost in my thoughts and memories, because when I at last became aware again, it was only a couple of hours from dusk. And, by some strange chance, I had made my way back to the forest. I knew that I would be safe in the forest, and that I could hide there easily. Plus, it was a perfect spot for me to talk to Loki in. [Because I really need to talk to him.]

* * *

"Well.....it looks like I was wrong....." Loki rubbed the back of his neck and looked a little sheepish. "I didn't think the Sheikah were immortal, so I assumed that he – you know....." he heaved a great sigh, and looked out over the dappled forest-scape.  
  
"Don't worry, it was just as much of a shock to me," I said. "Are you almost done with making me a new pair of glasses there?" He nodded, and completed creating the new pair in midair with his staff. "Thanks," I took them from where they hung in the air and put them on.  
  
"I charmed them so they won't break so easily – but please, be careful with them this time! You've been through too many pairs."  
  
"I'll try."  
  
We travelled through the outskirts of the forest, watching the woodland flowers close as the sun retreated from the sky to the west. Every so often, I thought that I heard someone following us – a small shuffling through the leaves on the ground, the muffled cracking of a twig. But, whenever I turned, there was no one there – I put it down to pure paranoia, and reminded myself that there would be many creatures rustling around here.  
  
A few minutes of calm silence passed, before the issues at hand pressed on my mind so much that I had to bring them up again. "What do I do? I just know that Sheik will tell Link I'm back!"  
  
"Perhaps that wouldn't be so bad – he could help you, at least fund-wise."  
  
"I don't really want to face a friend that I may potentially have to kill..... Damn, I thought I could do this without having to face them again!"  
  
"You'll just have to stay as hidden as you can – if you like, I can try and alter your appearance here a little....." he fingered his Mithril staff with a guilty smile.  
  
"You're definitely not supposed to do that on-world," I snorted. "But, we've broken the rules before on that anyway....." I looked at him slyly. "Don't turn me into a man this time though – that's _not_ an experience I wish to relive."  
  
"All right!" he laughed. "If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have gotten out of Krystarl alive thought, so it was forgivable."  
  
"Not with all those scantily-clad slave girls around it wasn't! Do all men's bodies have such a mind of their own?" I smirked, and he blushed brightly.  
  
"OK! My bad for not checking the hierarchy of the place beforehand..... Anyhow, it won't be anything as drastic this time..... Just a change of hair, and maybe something about your eyes."  
  
"Is that even possible?" I'd never heard of eyes being changed before.  
  
"If I try very hard, then yes. What colour?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What colour eyes do you want?"  
  
I thought about it for a split second, and then grinned. "Red."  
  
"Red?"  
  
"Sheikah – it'd be perfect! No one would bother me, because they'd think I was a Sheikah mercenary in this garb."  
  
"All right, but you can't just do the eyes – it's not enough. "The hair as well I think."  
  
"I'm not changing the blasted colour!" I cried, remembering a hideous two weeks in which my hair had been an acid green due to Loki and David's indecisiveness over which clan I should be part of whilst taking students onto a trainee world. In the end, both clans had shunned me as a crossbreed between the blond 'Terra' and the blue haired 'Orca.'  
  
"Well, if that's the case, all I can do is lengthen it." I groaned loudly, and even though I knew he was right, and also that the change would help immensely, I hated the idea of having long hair again – it _always_ got in the way.  
  
"Fine," I moaned. "But no longer than waist-length, or I'll kill you!" He nodded to the warning, and then sought out a place where we could stop, and I could sit down, so that I was as still as possible during the casting.  
  
"Where do you think you'll stay for the next couple of days?" he asked as he made a figure of eight, closely followed by an oval in the air with his staff.  
  
"I might just stay here – at least the Kokiri like me," I said, and blinked as a maddening itch developed at the back of either eyeball.  
  
"Keep your eyes open!" Loki barked, and immediately my eyes began to water as I tried not to blink. "Will they recognise you like this?"  
  
"Aye – if I put my glasses on, they won't know any different." [At least, I hope they won't.] "And if they do throw me out, I can try and find my way to the sacred forest meadow, and stay there."  
  
"You can blink now," he said. "I don't think they'll throw you out. Not so long as your keep them entertained anyway."  
  
"Yes – but how do I do that?"  
  
"Tell them about some of your adventures – or some otherworld fairytales. Anything really, maybe play games with them and such-like."  
  
"I suppose I can cope with that....." I smiled softly as I remembered the few times I had looked after the younger warrior students. [If I remember rightly, kids seem to find me likeable enough.] I _really_ hoped that I did remember rightly.  
  
"I'm almost done with this," he said, and with a few last gestures with his staff, he was. "There you are – I hope that'll be enough to make getting around at least a little easier."  
  
"It should be," I assured him, and reached around to discover how far down my back Loki had caused my hair to be. To my surprise (and secret delight), I found that it was not much past my shoulders.  
  
"I thought I'd let you keep it relatively short," he smiled. "After all, you're going to need to have the best vision you can."  
  
"No joke there," I muttered. "Thanks for this – I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't have spoken to you."  
  
"No problem – really! I'm just glad that I could help out 'lex." He reached out and ruffled my new hair. "Hmm.....I can still remember when you the most adorable ringlets....." he smiled, and I looked at him nervously.  
  
"No Loki, don't even think it!" He blinked, and shook his head.  
  
"Don't worry – I wasn't going to really," he chuckled.  
  
"Loki!" Both of us whirled around to see David peering out of an unobtrusive portal, which he had made to blend in with the trees all around. "They need us back in council – those blasted unicorn hunters are wily, and you're the only one who can control them!" he paused, and looked at me. "Hey 'lex," he waved, using his other hand to push unruly strands of golden hair out of the way. "How're you doing so far here?"  
  
"I'm doing all right," it wasn't a strict lie – I _had_ managed to prevent Sheik from taking me to the palace after all. David just nodded, and I could see him twiddling his thumbs distractedly whilst he waited for Loki. Ever since he had been bought back, he'd always found it a struggle to wait for things to happen. He just wanted things to constantly be happening all the time, so that he could make sure he lived life to the full. (The struggle Loki had keeping up with him sometimes was proof enough of this.)  
  
"I'm coming love!" Loki called, and then swooped down to give me a parting hug. "Good luck, and take care."  
  
"Thank you, and I will," I said as my usual answer. Then, Loki picked his way over to the portal and stepped through. Both of them waved before they disappeared, and some legal jargon hovered in the air after they left, slowly giving way to the quiet of the forest.  
  
A few birds twittered, and the leaves above rustled in a brisk breeze. Apart from that, there was little sound. It was beautifully calming as I walked back out to get Nostawen, and then began to trek deeper into the forest, in the direction of Kokiri village. The stars were now just beginning to appear in the purple/blue sky, and I had to drape my cloak around my shoulders to abate the chill in the air as night drew in. The breeze played with my new long strands of hair, and I had to keep pushing it out of the way as I went along. [I must invest in some twine to keep this back.]  
  
Nostawen's warm breath billowed out beside me in twinjets as I led her along, and the last few flowers open were covered with warm dew as her breath condensed upon the petals. I stopped, and bent down to take a closer look at the plants. [After all, it's not like I'm in any hurry.] And, I may as well indulge myself with a few little pleasures before I had to get on with this quest of mine. Catherine was to arrive at sunset, day four.....

* * *

* * *

_Ah, finally, we had a confrontation – well, OK, so it wasn't a really hell- fire yell-fest – but there's still time for that my dear readers. [Grins]. Oh yes – much, much more time. And, as I seem to have turned into some kind of evil child recently, I'm off to type up the next chapter right now. [Giggles some more] Oh, I like the next chapter I does!  
  
Also, the bit with the sedated dart – does that actually make any sense? I was trying to convey how she was missing out parts of the sentences, but I'm not sure if I put in enough information to show what was happening, and the gist of the conversation. Any comments?  
  
Till next chapter – RR dammit!  
  
Soda XXX_


	5. Confrontational

**Thievery**  
  
_Disclaimer: [Raises an eyebrow at you.] You still need to ask?  
  
Last chapter, had some confrontation, a little bit of a touching moment between Loki and Alexis [retch]. Happy families there – but Hyrule is proving to be so full of memories that it is a lot tougher for Alexis that she guessed. Now, she's staying with the Kokiri, as they're the only people who won't turn her away. And I can sense (heh, I'm writing it, so of course I can) that there may be a fight – yay!  
  
Onwards!  
  
[] = Alexis' thoughts and italics = Memories_

* * *

* * *

The Kokiri accepted me readily when I returned to the village – indeed, they were ecstatic that I had come back so soon. I found guilty pleasure in their joy to see me, as I knew that they could not possibly know who I truly was. Link would have had the heart to tell them, and I doubted Sheik would have come to the forest on anything less than to provide monster control.  
  
Whilst I remained in the village, I spent my nights sleeping out under the stars, as none of the houses would have been able to accommodate me. I say slept.....to tell the truth, I spent many nighttime hours teaching the forest children the constellations (which I had made sure was in my compact information through the portal). I also, on great demand, gave them stories about the quest to awaken the sages so many years before. At first, I tried to dull it down, and keep out the worst parts of gore, but their rapt attention forced my more creative side to get up and do some work. It got to the point that whenever I took a break in the story, the Kokiri would all blink, and stare around, seeming to have forgotten where they were.  
  
The story that they especially liked was the one which concerned their very own forest temple. I gathered from discussions with them, that Link had given them all a brief summary, but no details. Thus, I described the Poes and the temple as vividly as I could remember them, managing to indight shivers amongst the gathered listeners, and small smiles of appreciation.  
  
Also, when I told them of Sheik and Link having to dress up as women (how I cherish that memory of them trying to apply makeup), many of them fell about in raucous giggles. A blonde haired girl gasped through tears of mirth, "Link.....never told us.....about that!" before dissolving into another fit of giggles.  
  
So, when it actually came to the fourth day, when I had to leave, I felt a pang of sadness. For, here, in this little forest haven, were the only people, perhaps in the whole of Hyrule, who would accept, and even enjoy my presence. I knew now just how Link must have felt when he had to leave so very long ago.  
  
It was at sunrise that I left – which would allow more than enough time to travel, and I could afford to go at a relatively slow clip. The Kokiri gathered around the tunnel which led out to the rest of Hyrule, and I was goaded into being almost hugged to death by the lot of them. "Mido, you're going to have to let go now," I gasped, and the boy released his death-grip hug from around my neck, and dropped his feet back onto the ground.  
  
"Will you come back again and visit?"  
  
"I'll try – but it will be a while longer before I can next come." I pulled myself free from the sea of the farewell party, and climbed up onto Nostawen. "Don't forget to look for that meteor shower I told you of tonight!" I called, and then rode through the tunnel before the little lot could manage to persuade me to stay.

* * *

I managed to make excellent time to Hyrule Castle-town, and arrived a total of four hours before the carrier was to arrive. [Her name's Catherine, and she looks like a Gerudo.....] I kept chanting to myself in my head. [Catherine – don't forget that!] I had to make the best impression I could so that the child would trust me – so it would probably be wise to stash my weapons somewhere for a while.  
  
Before I rode into the main square, I paused to remove my glasses – with my new eyes, it would be less conspicuous that way. I also tipped my head forwards so that one eye was covered by hair. I couldn't see much, but now I had the authentic Sheikah hairstyle. Lastly, I pulled the cloak I was wearing close around me, so that it obscured the better part of my arsenal.  
  
[And here we go.....] Nostawen walked forwards obediently, and acted calmly amongst the hustle of people going to and fro about their daily business. I peered about me, hoping to spy an inn that I could deposit my belongings (and horse) at, and then perhaps stay with the girl [Catherine! Remember that dammit!] I could remember, from the times when I was a child here, seeing many hanging signs from the shop-fronts. There had been an inn amongst all of them – surely there had. But, if there had been, it wasn't there anymore – all I could see were a well established bakery, next to the potions-shop, and across the way, a tailors, as well as dozens of small outlets.  
  
"Excuse me," I accosted an auburn-haired youth, who had paused in his walk to let Nostawen and I past.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Sorry to bother you, but do you know where I can find an inn around here?"  
  
"You won't find any here I'm afraid – they're all on the outskirts. But, you might find trouble getting in around festival time."  
  
[Festival? What ruddy festival?] "Oh.....well, thanks for the directions anyway."  
  
"Hey, I think I do know of somewhere you could stay, if I can persuade my grandfather to let you. And, it'd be for free."  
  
"No, I wouldn't want to impose....."  
  
"Hey, it wouldn't be imposing – my grandfather's an old pushover!" he threw back his head in a merry laugh, and I almost fell off my horse. There, before me, stood Link – yes, Link. Without his hat, and with his hair turned auburn..... but apart from that..... [Must be his grandson.] "And the palace is big enough for a thousand boarders miss! And, he always takes people in around festival time."  
  
"I – uh – no – no thank you. I'm not really stopping long," I stammered, and he looked confused.  
  
"But, you asked about the inns....."  
  
"Good day," Nostawen turned tail with little fuss, and took me away from the youth.  
  
"Uh – yeah – good day....." he called after me, sounding a little put out and bemused.  
  
I made my way back to the outskirts, wondering how I could have overlooked all these inns, when all of them were so forward in proclaiming 'no vacancies' in their windows. I began traipsing around to look for a 'vacancies' sign, starting in the respectable area of town, and then slowly being drawn along into the more rundown areas. Finally, in a particularly shabby street, I saw the first 'vacancies'. It was shoved into the window of a place called the 'Laughing Din', and I could barely see the writing through the grime on the glass.  
  
Above the door, the sign was faded and peeling, and portrayed the Goddess after which it was named. Her eyes were screwed up, and her cheeks were a merry pink; her whole face was surrounded by gaudy red strokes that I supposed were to represent her hair. It looked nothing like the elegant scripture pictures of the Goddesses, and I wondered how they felt about this particular establishment.  
  
Going inside the stable yard was an adventure in itself, and it showed me just how the Goddesses felt about this place. The walls were practically alive with mildew, and I stepped into a puddle of something unmentionable as soon as I was through the gate. The stable boy hopped over the scattered puddles with practiced ease, and took the reins of Nostawen sullenly – I managed to bring a smile to his unwashed face by shoving a blue rupee into his grubby little fist. The inn itself didn't look much better than the yard – it reminded me somewhat of the slums that humans had to live and hide in on the demon-world Vyxennia. The only difference was that the 'Laughing Din', instead of having fortified steel bars over the windows, instead had rotten shutters that looked about ready to break off.  
  
Still, I ploughed ahead, swatting away a few large black flies that came in swarms from the stables. [Demons, I hope Nostawen's all right in those things.] The paint on the front door crumbled beneath my fingers, and opened onto a hallway which smelled distinctly of boiled cabbage, with an underlying stench of urine. The sad thing was, I'm probably the only person who at that point would have been able to say 'I've seen worse'. And, trust me, no one else would want to see what was worse than this. A small, furry creature scuttled out past me and into the stable yard to dive into one of the puddles.  
  
"Yes, what do you want?" a hard-faced woman demanded, rubbing hands which were red-raw and covered in grease on a similarly greasy apron. I looked up from watching the rat.  
  
"A room please."  
  
"Well, obviously – persons staying would be one? So, a single....." she barked.  
  
"No, I need a double – I have a friend who will be joining me later on."  
  
"Like I haven't heard that line before," she muttered loudly. "Look girlie, if you're looking for a room to carry out 'ladies work', I ask that you do so discreetly – and that you keep out of my daughter's patch. Room four, floor three." She shoved a key into my hand and propelled me to the stairs before I could set her right on my usage of the room.  
  
[So Hyrule has a darker side after all.....] I hadn't thought that it would, with all its heroic and righteous citizens. But, that was a stupid assumption – there are always the bad apples, the ones with something against the world. [Surely she didn't think I was – no – did she?] I looked down at my fare – there was no way I looked like a – well, 'lady of the night', to put it nicely. [Eesh, now I'm panicking over it.]  
  
The room was just as tatty and grubby as the rest of the place, and had the added bonus of a quilt on the bed, which can't have been washed for over a year. The bathroom was pretty much the same, and I was sure I saw a cockroach or two scuttling into a large rotten crack in the skirting board. [And yet, I've still seen worse than this.] In fact, this place was rather tame, compared to other worlds I had been to. At least the cockroaches here weren't poisonous, and the rats didn't seem bold enough to try and gnaw my feet whilst I slept. Not to mention it lacked actual fungus growing from the walls, and there was no apparent sewage on the bathroom floor. All in all, it wasn't as bad as it could be.  
  
I had to scrape a layer of lime scale from the mirror before I could look in it. "Surely – I don't look like....." I mused aloud as I turned from side to side. Well, perhaps the hair the way it was gave me a sultry look or something, because my clothes definitely weren't the right sort to have made her think that. "Ack, who cares?" I shrugged at myself in the mirror, and then returned to the bedroom, as the scuttling sounds were worrying me slightly. [How many cockroaches can fit in that skirting board?] I decided I didn't want to find out, and shut the door behind me.  
  
From the bathroom door I could see the lice crawling on the bed-sheets, and decided that twenty rupees a night was pure extortion. However, she probably got away with it because most of her lodgers would be 'that sort'. I didn't dare to sit on the bed myself, and just discarded my weapons in a pile on the table next to it. This was in good condition compared to the rest of the room, with most of its paint left, and the legs only a little rat chewed.  
  
Curiously, I opened the top drawer. Then, I screamed, and fell over backwards as the hugest cockroach I had ever seen emerged, followed by several hundred young – they scuttled to go under the bed, and I stood up as quickly as possible. Still in the drawer was the putrid, rotting carcass of a large dead rat, which the cockroaches had been feasting on – there were also dozens of fat, white maggots easting through the flesh. I closed my eyes, and slammed the drawer shut with my hip. "That was disgusting," I said to no one in particular, and decided against looking in the dilapidated wardrobe in the corner – the smell alone stayed my hand.  
  
I sat down on the three-legged stool that was the last piece of furniture in the bedroom (after checking that it was safe to sit on), and checked the clock on the wall – five o'clock. It was the same as the watch on my wrist, so at least the clock worked. That meant I now had three hours left until sundown – the search for a room had taken longer than I anticipated. But, no matter – I still had time to attempt to plan what to say to Catherine when she arrived.

* * *

It was half past seven when I left the 'Laughing Din' (closely watched by the land-lady and the scowling stable boy), and began making my way to the Temple of Time. I decided to stick to the back streets, as there was less chance of being spotted there. As long as I kept to the lengthening shadows, hopefully I would be able to pass by unnoticed. And, in the back streets, the buildings were built so close that they seemed to almost lean towards one another – and perhaps they did – which blocked out the last of the dying sunlight, adding to the shadows I needed.  
  
The one weapon I had bought with me was one of my throwing daggers, concealed within my boot, and it pressed hard against my ankle at every other step. It was incredibly reassuring to have it there, though I did not intend to use it.  
  
Already, the 'ladies of night' were preparing for their 'work'. Each one of their painted, pouting faces had the ghost of one of the girls from the 'house of courtesans' about it – haunted, strained. Each of their faces induced a chill up my spine, as I thought of how differently things could have turned out for me. But, I shook the feelings off and ignored them as best I could. After all, it wasn't like there weren't millions of other girls who turned to the same trade to survive throughout the worlds.  
  
When I emerged into the more open roads nearer to the main square and the Temple, I saw people setting up a stage in the distance, and, closer to, standing chairs and creating a temporary orchestra pit. Immediately, I withdrew into the alley I'd just left, and checked my watch. I had less than ten minutes to cover the hundred or so yards of streets, square and houses to reach the Temple.....without being seen. [Damn it.]  
  
The wall I was leaning on suddenly shifted, and I pulled away. Looking back, I saw I was actually leaning upon the bottom rows of a huge tower of crates. [Hmm.] I looked up to see how far they extended, and saw that I could probably reach the roof from the top of the stack.  
  
But, before I could begin my climb, voices headed my way, and two burly men approached – I retreated into a doorway. "Can't believe we have to shift all of these!"  
  
"I know – they ain't paying us half as good as they should be!"  
  
"Well – at least it puts a little bit of grub in our bellies."  
  
"True – ah, c'mon, let's move these and get it over with."  
  
I cursed under my breath as the top crate, which would have taken me to the roof, was removed. [Oh, sod it!] I strode out of the alley and went nonchalantly past the workers. A few watched me go by, and then returned to their work, unperturbed. [This new look works better than I thought] I smiled, and scaled the Temple steps.  
  
The door opened smoothly, the noise of the lifted latch echoing around the vaulted ceiling. It was just as magnificent and beautiful as it had always been, now housing pews for a regular congregation, and the broken shards of the Master Sword stood in a glass case before the altar. (The Master Sword had been broken in one of Link's many noble errands, though I've never found out which one.)  
  
Padding down the central aisle, towards the altar, and beyond that the now closed door-of-time, bought back thousands of memories. Most of them were good, though a couple were not. I smiled as I looked around, admiring the new stained-glass window which had been placed above the door-of-time. It showed a boy clad in green upon a red mare, riding across a swathe of bright green grass before a rising (or setting) sun. And, at the bottom, inscribed in lead lettering, was the legend – 'The Hero of Time'.  
  
I stopped just before the altar, and checked my watch again – five minutes and then I could discard the cumbersome timepiece. I stared blankly at the stone altar, remembering the shimmering Spiritual stones that had once sat there. I also listened to the quiet ticking of the watch as it counted the minutes away.  
  
There was the tiniest of whip-cracks behind me, but the Temple echoed it, making it ten times louder. I turned around, and my stomach flip-flopped between anger and longing in a pitiful way. "Sheik?" He jumped at his name and faced me.  
  
"I was wondering when you'd turn up here," he said as he strode over.  
  
"Why would you think I'd be here?"  
  
"Well, you are, aren't you, so what does it matter?"  
  
"Stop being so bloody cryptic, I was just curious..... Another question, if I may?"  
  
"Knock yourself out."  
  
"Why the hell are you looking for me?"  
  
"If there's trouble in Hyrule, it's my business to help solve it."  
  
"Well, I don't need your help, so why don't you sod off and train your soldiers like a good boy?" I snapped, trying to offend him enough to get rid of him – only four minutes remained till sunset.  
  
"If you're planning to do such a good job saving Hyrule all alone, then I don't need to bother training my soldiers, do I now?" He leant on the altar, and smirked, because he knew that I knew he was right.  
  
"Damn it, you've gained brains since I last saw you," the curse didn't have quite the effect I wanted, because my face broke into a grin in the middle.  
  
"Aye, and you've evidently lost some," he shot back, easing himself into the front pew with his usual grace..... "So, what's the mission objective?" I stopped staring, and growled an annoyed retort to him,  
  
"To make you go the hell away!"  
  
He just laughed darkly. "You know I'll never trust you enough with Hyrule's fate to do that. So, just tell me like a civil woman, and stop acting like a child!"  
  
"That's a bit rich coming from you. 'Oh boo hoo, the big bad traitor lied to me so that she could ensure my land's future – wah!'" I taunted him, and he scowled in annoyance, flexing his fingers menacingly.  
  
"For Goddesses' sakes, just tell me." He wasn't going to move, that much was apparent.  
  
"Look, I'll tell you," I hissed, slightly frantic as the time ticked away. "Just give me a few hours, and _then_ I'll tell you!"  
  
"I fell for that one last time," he sneered, "I won't be fooled so easily again."  
  
"What did you want me to do, hmm? In case you'd forgotten, I happened to be dead in this world. It's not like I could have told you if I wanted to!"  
  
"So you admit you didn't want to?" he bellowed.  
  
I stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh of exasperation. Then, something snapped; why should I have to put up with his self-righteous whining anyway? "Demons Sheik, what did it matter in the long run? Hyrule was safe, and that was all that truly mattered, not my bloody past!"  
  
"It mattered to me!" he yelled back, two angry scarlet patches appearing on his cheeks.  
  
"Yeah, well boo fucking hoo. I don't give a damn anymore – I didn't come back here to listen to your petty problems with me. I only came back because I do give a damn about this land!"  
  
"Oh? So, where were you when 'this land' needed you the most, hmm? When people were trying to rebuild, and they needed all the help they could get? When Link and I-" he paused, and looked down at the floor.  
  
"Well, I would have thought the fact that I was preparing to commit suicide if I lost a case which would force me into prostitution would be a good enough reason – but no – it's not bloody good enough for you, is it?" The temple was now ringing with our voices.  
  
"You got through that, from what I can tell. But, you didn't think to tell us that you were all right?"  
  
"I was terrified of what both of you might think of me after-" I said quietly. He looked shocked – and above, the clock in the tower began to chime the hour.  
  
Over the altar, a portal appeared, pulsating and humming loudly like some live thing. Within it, I could see a shadowy figure that was fast gaining more solidity. Sheik reached to the weapons at his waist, but I shook my head violently at him – surprisingly, he didn't draw his weapons. The portal reached the peak of its brightness, and I had to squint to see the girl's figure lowering slowly down onto the altar.  
  
At first (when the portal had faded), I wondered why she wasn't sitting up and looking around bemused. In a blind panic, I rushed forwards just to check that she was breathing, and let out a shaky, "Thank demons for that!" when I found that she was. Loki had been accurate in his description of her – her fiery red hair cascaded to her tiny waist, braided into thousands of tiny plaits, and then drawn into a large ponytail at the back of her head. Her ears, though round like a Gerudo's, still managed to support a gold ring at each tip, as well as another two hoops in the lobes. Her skin wasn't as dark as a Gerudo's, and nor was she as heavily muscled as the thief-women – but apart from that, if she was clothed in Gerudo fare, she could have passed as one of them. (The clothes she was wearing consisted of a white shirt, and some blue trousers I believe are called 'genes', or something like that.)  
  
She coughed a little and turned over on the altar, not seeming to have noticed she'd just travelled between worlds by a portal. No matter, because it gave me time to quietly berate, and hopefully deter Sheik. And, if I couldn't get rid of him, then I'd have to explain it all to him instead. [But first.....] "How did you know it was me?"  
  
"Wha-what?" he blinked and tore his eyes away from where Catherine lay on the altar, his face still a perfect picture of shock.  
  
"How did you know it was me? When I've changed both my hair and my damn eye colour to throw you off?"  
  
"You think that will stop those who know you from recognising you?" he snorted. "You'd have to – oh – I don't know – become a _man_ or something to do that....." The way he'd said 'man'.....  
  
"It was you! You were the one following Loki and me!"  
  
"Got it in one," he said dryly. "So, 'potentially have to kill a friend'?" This time, he did draw his weapon, and levelled it at me. "Stop lying to me, because we both know you're not here to help at all – you'll probably just join Ganondorf and go your own merry way."  
  
"That's what you think of me?" I asked hoarsely, appalled.  
  
"I wouldn't put it past you." I raised my arms, and looked at the vaulted ceiling.  
  
"Goddesses, you've graced Hyrule with an idiot Sheikah who's going to kill the only one who knows how to save it properly. Sorry, but there's nothing I can do about it." Then, I looked at Sheik, ever conscious of the blade hovering ever so close to being my death. "Fine, do it – all that will happen is you'll end up with a less experienced Angel warrior who will probably mess the whole job up. But, if the demise of Hyrule is what you want – I won't stop you." I kept my arms raised, and waited for the blow.  
  
The blade levelled at my heart quivered slightly in Sheik's hand as he weighed the options. Finally, he re-sheathed it and frowned. "I'm an idiot for believing you again, but oh well." He nodded to where Catherine lay on the altar, "Please explain."  
  
"You're not going to let me do this alone, are you?" I asked exasperatedly.  
  
"No – I still don't trust you enough for that," he answered sombrely.  
  
"Great. OK – but, I ask just one thing if you must insist on travelling with me."  
  
"Mmmhmm?" he was now fingering the hilt of his blade, and I gulped before answering firmly.  
  
"Be civil. I don't need you dragging up the past in the middle of all this – it can wait till later."  
  
"That's what you always say," I just glared at him.  
  
"Oh, just shut up and listen will you, because she'll probably wake soon, and then there won't be time."  
  
"Go ahead."  
  
"Thank you." I sat down on the altar steps, and he returned to his pew seat. "It all starts with the fact that Ganondorf is coming back. And, obviously, he will be after the Tri-Force pieces of Courage and Wisdom, and there is no Hero of Time to speak of to combat him. So..... All the pieces of the Tri-Force must be gathered together for the light side before he can get his hands on those two pieces and wreak havoc.  
  
"That's what she's here for," I nodded to the quietly slumbering Catherine. "She's the carrier for the pieces – her name's Catherine. She's an other worlder, because we couldn't find anyone with a pure soul on Hyrule, and a pure soul was needed for the carrier. You follow me so far?"  
  
"Aye – carry on. You still haven't explained this 'potentially kill' subject," he pointed out.  
  
"I know....." I bit my lip, and thought briefly how I was going to word it.  
  
"Well?" he prompted impatiently.  
  
"Um – as I said, all the pieces have to be gathered in one person. But, if the carrier – Catherine here – were to – oh dear, how do I put this? Sod it, no point in beating about the bush here – if she were to die, then another plan would need to be used.  
  
"And – uh – since the pieces have to be in one person as you know, they have to uh – wait a second," he sighed in annoyance as I scanned my memory to try and remember the other plan. When I did, a wave of nausea surrounded me, and I had to take a deep, steadying breath before I could continue. "All the pieces have to be gathered into one person, and the only other people apart from Catherine who can hold the pieces are those who already hold pieces," I paused, wondering whether I had worded that properly, and then decided it didn't really matter.  
  
"You mean Thelia, Link and Ganondorf?"  
  
"Aye – and, um..... In order to get the pieces to reside in just one of them..... Two of the three would have to be – uh – disposed of....." I trailed off, and didn't dare look at his face, for fear of how angry he would be at the statement.  
  
"What?!" he jumped up from the pew, and there was a 'shick' as he once again drew his weapon. I looked up, to find it centred between my eyes.  
  
"It won't have to happen!" I assured him, going cross-eyed as I stared at the silver razor-sharp sword before my face. "The first plan will work."  
  
"It had better," he put the sword away. "I've no qualms over killing that bastard Gerudo, but to choose between my Queen and my friend..... it's terrible to think about."  
  
"Now you know how I felt when I found out about it," I whispered.  
  
"Aye....." he stared at the floor for a few seconds with a pensive look on his face. "Would you have done it?"  
  
"Done what?"  
  
"Killed them..... if you had to I mean."  
  
"I – yes," I answered surely. "Because, Hyrule doesn't deserve to fall into another dark era..... not after what little I saw of the first time. One life in trade for hundreds of thousands seems a fair trade to me."  
  
"Well, of course, it won't come to that if things go well – and with my help, things should be a little easier." I was tempted to snort derisively, but a fit of coughing from Catherine caught our attention.  
  
Now, she sat up and looked around with a look on confusement etched on her delicate, almost pixie-like features. [She reminds me somewhat of Navi.....] She rubbed her eyes and yawned as she studied her surroundings; then she caught sight of us. She let out a little shriek, jumped, and rolled off of the altar to the back – I cringed at the loud thud and moan as she landed on the stone floor. Then, she peered above the top of the stone slab of the altar, and demanded to know in a calm and composed voice, "Where am I, and who are the both of you?"  
  
[Oh, the many ways I could answer that question.....]

* * *

* * *

_Hehehe, Sheik can be an annoying little bitch when he wants to, can't he?  
  
Sheik: HEY!  
  
Soda: Ah, shut up and get to work.  
  
Sheik: [Sighs, and goes back to sit on his pew looking moody]  
  
Soda: Ah, I do so love being an author – tune in next time to see what the bloody hell my plot bunnies will order me to write next. [Sighs.] Damn those bunnies.....  
  
Bunnies: [Appear, wearing suits and dark glasses, carrying large briefcases] Did you just insult the corporation of plot bunnies ltd.?  
  
Soda: Uh – no? [Sweet smile]  
  
Bunnies: Oh good – well, here's your inspo for the next chapter. [They open the briefcases, and tonnes of Zelda merchandise tumbles out, as well as chi'bi Sheik, Navi and Alan Rickman (just for luck!)] Have fun now – bye! [Disappear]  
  
Soda: O.o Alan – Rickman – is – in – my – HOUSE! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!  
  
Alan: [Blinks] Umm.....right  
  
Soda: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! [Takes breath] EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! [Collapses]  
  
And, on that rather strange note from plot bunnies ltd., and what they'll do if you're nice to them, I'm off. Luv and all that merry stuff (I have an Alan to squee over), Soda XXX.  
  
RR – or else I'll – umm – well, it'll be bad, whatever I do to you. Grr! _


	6. Home sweet home?

**Thievery**  
  
_Disclaimer: Precious is all mine.....  
  
Oh Goddesses, what am I doing? I must be mad to have even started this whole Alexis saga. [Is firmly slapped by Draco the purple dragon muse]. Ah, thank you, fair muse. [Deep breath] and calm. Right, last chapter, we had Catherine arrive, a bit of a contained row and nice verbal abuse before she woke up. But, now the little carrier is awake, and wondering where the bloody hell she is. (To self) And I have no bloody idea what's going to happen in this chapter. Oh well.  
  
[] = Alexis' thoughts and italics = Memories_

* * *

* * *

"Where am I, and who are the both of you?" she repeated a little more boldly. I stepped towards her with my hands held out before me in the universal sign of peace.  
  
"First off, just know that we don't plan on harming you in any way," I told her softly, trying to be as assuring as possible.  
  
"Well, that's nice and all, but it doesn't really answer my questions," she stood up, and though she was quivering slightly, she managed to remain calm.  
  
"Ah yes – as to _where_ you are..... This is the Temple of Time in Hyrule. This gentleman here is Sheik, and I'm Blaise." A sharp cough came from Sheik, but I ignored it, paying heed to Catherine, who was holding her head and smiling.  
  
"Oh man, I have to stop eating cheese before bed – it's give me freaky dreams."  
  
"This is no dream!"  
  
"Yeah, sure, that's what you all say, right before you turn into pink elephants and form a conga line." Sheik let out a snort of laughter, and she turned to stare at him. "Yep – Sheikah aren't fabled for their sense of humour, and they definitely wouldn't laugh at a feeble joke like that – ack, I'm analysing a dream! I have to stop reading all those old fables." She rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand, and then paused.  
  
She stared at the skin there, and I could see a small trickle of blood coming from her grazed knuckles. Gingerly, she prodded the injury, winced, and then looked up at me with a wide smile and sparkling eyes. "I'm really in Hyrule?" she whispered, mouse-like.  
  
"Aye, that you are," I answered, and then was knocked flying as she launched herself at me and wrapped her arms around my neck.  
  
"YES! I knew it! I knew the old tales were real!" she exclaimed ecstatically. "Oh – oops – sorry," she giggled in embarrassment, and helped me up from the floor. "I'm just – I – wow. I'm really here!" She looked up at the ceiling, and held her hands clasped in front of her, a look of ecstatic joy on her face.  
  
[Oh dear – and I have to burst her bubble.] "Well – um – I wouldn't get too excited about it-"  
  
"Are you kidding? I've always dreamed of coming here. Oh, to see the sun rise over lake Hylia would be fantastic – and Death mountain – everything!"  
  
"Please!" Sheik stood up, hands crossed over his chest. "Just be quiet for one second girl!" I would have yelled at him for being so rude, but the point got across, as she stopped talking immediately, and looked at him with a nervous smile. "Al- uh, Blaise; explain it all to her." Catherine didn't seem to pick up on his slip, and even though I was still terribly annoyed with him, I couldn't help but be thankful for his help in the situation.  
  
"Explain what?"  
  
"Why exactly you're here. I'm afraid it's not for a good reason – have you read in your legends of a Gerudo man named Ganondorf?" She nodded. "Well, then you will know that he bought seven years of darkness over Hyrule, by breaking apart the Tri-Force and trying to gain power that wasn't meant for him?" She nodded again, and slowly eased herself onto a perch on the altar. "He was sealed in the Sacred Realm by the Sages that the Hero of Time awakened – however, that seal has broken." She gasped, taking a small hand to her mouth. "Exactly..... And you have been bought here because of this."  
  
"But – why? I don't know anything about fighting or magic, or anything like that!"  
  
"Because we need you to help us get the Tri-Force pieces back, and get rid of Ganondorf forever. I can't explain it all to you right now, but if you will come with us, we will explain it to you somewhere safer."  
  
Sheik coughed, and then said incredulously, "Excuse me, but where is safer than here? This is the Temple of Time for Goddesses sake!"  
  
"It's not safe to talk here," I said, turning to face him with a sneer, "Because this is a public place, and anyone could wander in here - _especially_ since it's around carnival time." I turned back to Catherine, and smiled weakly. "Will you help us?"  
  
"I..... I don't know what you need my help with, but I'll do what I can," she said with a slight shrug.  
  
"Thank you," I said with utmost sincerity, and then beckoned her over. "Come along, I've rented a room that we can stay in. Sheik," I looked at him, "can no doubt trust me enough to meet us again in the morning."  
  
"Not bloody likely," he murmured, and followed us down the Temple steps. We walked along in silence through the ever-darkening streets, Sheik striding ahead of us by a couple or so paces so that any suspicious people were quickly scared off. Catherine finally managed to pipe up courage, and whispered,  
  
"Do you two not get on?"  
  
"I wouldn't say get on exactly," I whispered back. "More that we tolerate one another."  
  
"Hit the nail on the head there," Sheik called over his shoulder, followed by, "Now which way?"  
  
"Left." He paused, and looked down the little back-alley with disgust.  
  
"Please don't tell me you mean this place?" he said disdainfully, pointing at the 'laughing Din', which didn't look much better by candle-light. "The 'laughing Din'? This place is revolting!"  
  
"It's also the only place I could find – we have to go in anyway, all my weapons are in there," I snapped, tugging Catherine along behind me and through the stable-yard to the inn's front door, which was wide open. "Mind the step," I intoned as we walked over the thresh-hold, closely followed by Sheik, who was muttering a stream of scathing comments about the place. I was used to the stench of the place, but Catherine began to cough loudly as soon as we entered the cramped stairwell. The vicious land-lady came out onto the landing, and I could see a look of surprise upon her face when she saw me returning with both a man and a woman. [I dread to think what's going on in that suspicious head of hers.....]  
  
"Here we are," I fished the key out of my tunic pocket, and fumbled around for the keyhole in the darkness. Finally, I found the damn thing, and turned the key in the lock, which creaked, and then shoved the door open. A few cockroaches scurried away to hide as we stepped in, and Catherine let out a small whimper as she no doubt spied a few of the larger ones on the floor. "It's all I could find so close to carnival time.....at least, all that would keep me a low profile," I explained to both of them, and walked over to the table in order to pick up my weapons.  
  
"That's one mean looking swo- eek!" Catherine screeched, as a cockroach scurried over her foot, and then under the bed. "Gross!" I just shook my head, and pitied her that she wasn't used to this sort of thing – not yet, anyway. "How can you even think about coming in here, let alone staying to sleep?"  
  
"To be honest, I didn't really have the time to think about it if I was to be there to welcome you," I said quietly, moving my weapons onto a pile on the bed, and then taking hold of one end to see just what the hell was under there – with Catherine here, I'd have to try and exterminate as many of the pests as possible. [I wish I'd thought to do this before she got here.] "Help me with this, will you?" I puffed, and Sheik (to my surprise) moved towards the iron bedstead. But, instead of pulling, he began to push it back into place. "What are you doing?"  
  
"Preventing a mass of creatures from scuttling out from under this thing. I dread to think what lurks under it – you two can't stay here. You'd be eaten alive, or die of plague before the morning."  
  
"Don't be ridiculous – we'll be fine!" I said, even though I didn't look forward to staying here at all.  
  
"Uh....." Catherine said timidly, looking around the room. "I suppose – if we could not touch the floor – or the walls – or ceiling – or any of the furniture....." She trailed off, and looked at me pleadingly. "Can we stay somewhere else? I know I've only just got here, and I shouldn't be making demands.....but this place is just.....you know....." She looked around with keen eyes, searching out anymore cockroaches, rats or other creatures that might dwell in the place.  
  
"For Goddesses sake, you can just use my house; I'm not going to have our only hope die in this squalid little place. You haven't already paid have you?" he asked. I nodded, and then scowled,  
  
"Never mind – I suppose health is higher than money."  
  
"Aye; come on, come with me." He strode out of the room in his usual long gate, and Catherine had to almost jog to keep up with him, whereas I was so used to it, I barely noticed. Catherine grabbed onto my arm desperately, and clung on, most likely afraid of getting lost. I didn't blame the child – I was beginning to be worried myself of getting lost without Sheik – it was amazing just how quickly a place could change in fifty years.  
  
Our journey took us away from the dark, dank back alleys, where the lowest of the low slid through the shadows, preying on the weak and unsuspecting. One unfortunate pickpocket attempted his trade upon Sheik, who shoved him away with such force into the wall that I heard something crack. After that, no more thieves bothered us, and Catherine's grip on my arm loosened as we walked out into the wider streets of cosy residential houses. A few still had lantern-light pouring from their windows, and I wondered if any of the people within knew of the impeding darkness that could crash down on them so soon.  
  
Hopefully, they did not.....and they never would.  
  
Sheik carried on, straight past the delightful little houses, into a more upmarket part of the town, where the merchants and traders lived. Still, we carried on, drawing ever closer to the castle. [What if he's just leading us straight to Link?] I thought with sudden sick horror. Would he? I wasn't sure.....I had no idea as to how fifty years might have warped his mind against me. I just hoped that this wasn't a trick.  
  
He began to slow a good mile or so from the castle, so I knew he was not taking us there. We stopped in front of a large house, which towered four storeys above the street, as well as showing the telltale floor-level windows of a basement/cellar. "This is your house?" Catherine spluttered, now letting go of my arm completely, and staring up towards the top floor, mouth hanging open. "It's like twice the size at least of my house.....wow, you must be loaded!"  
  
"Hardly," Sheik muttered, quirking an eyebrow. He fished a plain black iron key from his satchel, and inserted it into the impressive looking lock of the sturdy oak front door. With an ominous click, the door swung inwards to show a shadowy hallway – motes of dust flew out from the hinges. "I don't use it much," he barked at my inquisitive stare. Catherine jumped, and then followed Sheik through the door. With a deep breath, and look of pleading at the heavens, I followed suit, stepping into the cool darkness of the house.  
  
[What have I let myself in for.....?] I wondered balefully, as Sheik lit a lantern, and made his way up a sweeping staircase that reminded me of Xenia's house [I suppose she's dead – Eloise too.....most of them really.] With a shake of my head, I cleared the memories away – I couldn't go through the memory catalogue thing again. [Why is it that this place always brings them forwards though? Damn it.....I'll be mad before this is over.] Strangely, that thought comforted me. At least if I went mad, I wouldn't have to think about Sheik, and what we could have had, and-  
  
[Stop right there 'lex] I commanded myself, and focused on the steps we were ascending. Catherine's shoes clicked upon the wood, and my feet made a soft padding sound; Sheik's footsteps, were of course, silent. "Which floor are we going to?" the carrier asked curiously, straining to see into the murky gloom around us.  
  
"The third," Sheik answered without turning back. "It's the only furnished floor."  
  
"You mean you have this big house, and you don't use it all?" she said in surprise. "I would have thought if you didn't use it yourself, you might have rented it out or something....."  
  
"If you've read your texts closely enough, you will know we Sheikah aren't known for our social behaviour," Sheik said dryly. She didn't say anything after that, just pulled a face at me, and carried on walking. On the second floor, we passed by something which caught my eye – a portrait hung, half- covered by tattered cloth upon the wall. Quietly, so that the other two didn't notice I had stopped, I walked over to it. I swept the annoying Sheikah style fringe from my face, and used my other hand to lift away the cloth-  
  
"Leave it!" Sheik grabbed the back of my tunic, and pulled me away from the painting – however, the cloth was still tightly clasped between my fingers, and it came as well, almost dislodging the painting altogether. In the lantern's light, the faded strokes of the artist were bought to life.  
  
"It's you two – wow – but, who's the guy on the horse? Is that.....Link?" Catherine air-touched the painting, whilst Sheik silently fumed, and I stared at it in shock.  
  
"Who?" I peered at the frame to try and find a signature, but there was none. "Sheik?" he didn't answer. "Demons Sheik, snap out of it you idiot!" He blinked, and glared at me venomously.  
  
"Her Royal Majesty, wife of the Lord Protector, Malon to you," he spat, lifting the cloth from the floor and then throwing it back over the painting. "Come on, before I change my mind and give you and your charge to the guards in the dungeons to look after." It was an empty threat, but I didn't dare cross him again all the same. Catherine didn't need to see displays of violence that I had seen from him in the past. Especially not a display in which he may turn his sword upon me. That wouldn't help anyone.  
  
The third floor was as sparsely decorated as the other two, until he opened the door into the apartments that he used. Throwing a Deku-nut into the empty fireplace, he succeeded in lighting the whole room, which was sparingly, though tastefully, furnished. A pile of papers lay messily upon a writing desk, and on top of them sat a pair of spectacles shaped like half-moons. A quill lay in the dry inkwell, and splatters of ink riddled the tables surface like rampant woodworm.  
  
"There are six bedrooms on this floor – I've only furnished one though, so you'll either have to share, or make up some beds with spare mattresses from the store-room," he instructed, pointing to an inconspicuous door on the other side of the room. "That's the store-room – the bedrooms are all along the hallway from here – the next along is the furnished one."  
  
"We'll be OK in that one, right Blaise?" Catherine asked, stifling a yawn. "Man, I'm tired – I guess inter-dimensional-things do that to you, right?" I just nodded, and opened the door for her to go through.  
  
"Go on – I'll catch up," I whispered to her, and then shut the door quietly. Pressing my ear against it, I listened to make sure that she did indeed go along to the other room, and then looked at Sheik, who was easing himself into the chair in front of the desk, and slipping the glasses on with a tired sigh. "Sheik?" He stubbornly withdrew an inkbottle from the drawer, and stabbed the quill into it with such force that I heard the tip crunch against the bottom of the container. "Please – we need to talk."  
  
"I don't see that there's much to talk about – you are only here to carry out a mission, so get it over with, and then leave me be." He took a sheet from the pile (already half-filled), tapped the quill against his cheek a couple of times, before beginning to scrawl madly over it, hand curled into a desperate fist as the words bled out.  
  
"Please.....just let me explain-"  
  
"I'm sick of your explanations. Just go away, I have reports that need to be done by the morn," he threw the sheet aside onto the floor, and then took another, this time clean, and carried on with the frantic writing. I took a step forwards, checked myself, and turned around, opened the door and left, repressing the urge to slam it behind me. Pressing the heels of my hands over my eyes, I leant against the door and fought against hyperventilation which was trying to race through me.  
  
The door fell back away from me, and I wheeled backwards, flailing my arms clumsily and managing to catch onto the doorframe. Sheik brushed past me, a huge chunk of papers in his hand, and walked to a bookcase that stood against the banister along the hallway. Then, he swept back, and disappeared into the lounge-room without so much as a glance at me. Sick despair twisted my insides, and I hurried along to the bedroom, where Catherine was no doubt beginning to wonder where I had gotten.

* * *

I turned over, yawning, and one of the pillows Catherine had thought to pile on the floor for me on discovering that there was no couch, fell away, causing my head to fall and hit the hard floor. "Ow," I rasped in a sleepy haze. Rubbing my aching head, I blinked open my eyes to look for the pillow, and was assaulted by bright moonlight. I'd neglected to close the curtains, and now I had to fight against wanting to stay where I was because it was comfortable, or get up and close them. I decided to stay where I was, and turned over again, to stare at the door out onto the landing.  
  
I'd been thinking about that picture ever since I'd discovered it earlier in the evening. It was impossible to get the blasted thing out of my head, and I hadn't even seen it for more than a few seconds. Listening, I found that the house seemed silent enough; perhaps if Sheik had gone to bed, I could go and have another look. After all, if it had me in it, I was entitled to see it. Wasn't I?  
  
Still with the sleep-haze hanging over me, I rolled off of the cushions (feeling lucky that I was still fully dressed), and padded along the cold floor in bare feet. [What is it with people and wood floors? Does no one buy carpets anymore?] Cursing the cold of the night, I traversed the floor, testing each board before stepping on it to make sure I didn't squeak and wake either Catherine or Sheik.  
  
The door was mercifully silent as I cracked it open inch by inch. Flickering lantern-light startled me, and I wondered if Sheik were still up, writing reports. But – no – that light wasn't coming from this floor – it came from the floor below. I crept across the landing to look over the banister.  
  
Looking down, I saw Sheik sitting on the floor, papers in lap, in front of the very portrait I had been creeping out to see – the cloth was discarded on the floor, and every so often he would pause writing to look up at it.  
  
To look up at the painted version of me at fifteen. [I was ever so young? It seems so very hard to believe it now.] I chewed my lip, trying to figure out his expression.....but, he had replaced his facemask, and it was just as difficult to read his expressions now as I had found it twelve years ago [fifty for him though.]  
  
It was too risky to stay out here for long, in case he looked up here; I turned around, and made it back to the room, inched the door closed, and then shut it with the softest of clicks. Catherine was still soundly asleep, her right arm hanging down at the side of the bed, fist clenched. In the pale moonlight, she looked remarkably sweet, and so young that I wondered if she was ready for all this. [She looks like the kind of one who can only prosper in peacetime.]  
  
Whilst I was still up, I moved to the curtains, and closed them. It was now that my whole plan of stealth was ruined, because of that neglected pillow, which I couldn't see in the now pitch black. The resounding crash I made as I landed caused two things to happen: firstly, Catherine awoke with a scream loud enough to wake a re-dead. And secondly, Sheik crashed through the door about ten second afterwards, lantern in one hand, sword in the other. "What by the Goddesses is going on?" he yelled, heaving great breaths.  
  
"I – fell," I answered lamely. Catherine was rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and held a hand to her heart, still recovering from the shock.  
  
"Well, kindly don't go prancing around in the middle of the night and scaring the living daylights out of us." He sheathed his sword, and ran the back of his hand over tired looking eyes. "Try to get some sleep – there's only four hours of the night left as it is." And with that, he left the room, shutting the door firmly behind him.  
  
"Are you all right?" Catherine asked, looking down from the bed. "Do you want to switch? I don't mind sleeping on the-"  
  
"No – no, it's fine. Thanks, I'll be fine here. Just.....try and get some sleep, OK?"  
  
"Promise me my wake-up call isn't going to be anything like that," she said, yawning and lying down again.  
  
"I promise."  
  
"Good, good."

* * *

* * *

The morning came all too quickly, and I doubt I managed to get even an hour out of those left of the night of sleep. The cock crowed twice outside somewhere nearby, and I sat up immediately, happy that I now had an excuse to move. Catherine managed to sleep through the crow, and I didn't like to wake her, so I tiptoed around the room, gathering all my stuff, and searching through it for my remaining money. To my horror, I found that I had dropped some of my rupees along the way, so I had only small change left. "Shit."  
  
Rolling up my sleeve, and hoping that she didn't wake up, I looked at the armlet David had given me. Sure enough, he had managed to ingrain a summons button into the design (upon the snake's eye). After sticking my head around the door, and hearing soft snores coming through the open door of the lounge, I walked out, and strolled along till I found another door. Opening it, I came onto one of the empty bedrooms, which held only the shell of a fireplace. [Perfect.] I pressed the summons button, and immediately, a placard appeared from nowhere, which read 'Please wait one moment whilst we try to connect you'.  
  
[David, you're insane.] A few seconds went by, and I hopped from foot to foot, straining to hear any signs of movement in the house. Finally, David appeared, clad in a towel and scowling.  
  
"Why is it, every time I try to have a shower, I get a summons?" he growled, clutching the towel and shivering. "What?" he asked angrily, but the effect was spoiled by his chattering teeth.  
  
"Uh – I need some cash."  
  
"Visa or Master card?" he asked sarcastically, naming the credit card things from some world somewhere.  
  
"Rupees stupid! I lost them, and I – uh – need some."  
  
"How much?"  
  
"As much as will buy me a light sword and shield for the girl." He counted on his fingers, mouthing numbers, and then grinned.  
  
"About a hundred rupees then – here, have two hundred," he threw four purple rupees at me, one at a time. "Don't spend it all at once now!" He shivered. "Right, anything else, or can I go before Loki nicks the shower?"  
  
I raised any eyebrow, "And you're trying to tell me you'd mind that?" He blushed, grinned, and disappeared. I pocketed the money, and went back along to the bedroom before Sheik could accuse me of something.

* * *

"Catherine – get up kid, the sun's up," I called out, lifting my now-packed bag onto my back. She groaned and pulled the covers up over her head. "Come on, get up," I urged, tapping my foot impatiently. She just groaned again, and raised an arm from under the blankets to display a one fingered salute. "Fine," I walked over to the bed, grabbed the end of the coverlet, and whipped it off in one swift motion. The cold air of the house made her gasp, and she curled into a tiny ball before finally succumbing to opening her eyes.  
  
"You're evil," she murmured into the pillow, and then sat up, stretching widely, and gazing out of the window at the rising sun. "What time is it?"  
  
"About six or thereabouts I think – I let you sleep in for a bit."  
  
"You call six sleeping in?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and blinking to clear the sleep from her eyes. "This place in insane."  
  
"You don't say," I muttered to myself. Then, I spoke to her again, "do whatever you need to do – go to the loo, wash your face, whatever, and then come back in here. We're going to need to buy you some weapons." She stopped in her walk to the door, and turned round to face me with a quizzical look.  
  
"Weapons? But.....I don't know how to fight! What use could they possibly be?"  
  
"They may save your life sometime," I said simply back. "And don't worry, we still have three days to teach you how to wield a sword. Now, go on and find the bathroom," she nodded and stepped out of the room, only to wheel around and come straight back in, pushed gently in the small of back by Sheik. "What's the problem?" I asked tightly, slightly annoyed that he was indeed awake already.  
  
"Where was she going?"  
  
"'She' does have a name you know – and I think you could at least ask Catherine where she was going like a civil little boy." He just let out an annoyed sound, and then turned to Catherine.  
  
"All right – where were you planning on going?"  
  
"The bathroom.....is there a problem with needing to pee?" The corners of my lips rose slightly at the little biting remark, and I silently praised her for speaking back to him.  
  
"Oh," he seemed a little taken aback, and then stepped out of the way of the door, "down the hall, fourth door on the left."  
  
"Thanks," she brushed past him, yawning, and wandered off down the corridor. Sheik pushed the door shut, blocking my view of her, and stood in my line of vision.  
  
"What was the idea? Sneak off whilst I was sleeping?"  
  
"You won't believe me, but, it wasn't actually – I wanted to get out to the market before it was crowded so I could get her some weapons."  
  
"Right," he raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing me, just as I knew would happen. "Well, now that I'm awake, we can all go shopping together – what fun."  
  
"Aye, a veritable delight," I frowned. "Don't you have some kind of duties you should be doing or something?"  
  
"Don't _you_ have some duties you need to carry out?" he asked with a sarcastic air, nodding to the door and evading my question completely.  
  
"Fine! I'll go and get her – and no, I _won't _run off before you ask." I pushed past him to the door and exited as well, walking down to where he had described the bathroom to be. The corridor exposed itself to be tastefully decorated in the light of day, in shades of scarlet and ochre. The carpet was a dark, royal blue, and the Sheikah Eye of Truth was daubed all over the place. It was obvious this had once been a house for the Sheikah – of whom, only Sheik now remained.  
  
[How sad it must be, to be all alone,] I thought, before catching myself and remembering that I had to hate him. [I don't really – he's just so bloody stubborn!] I stopped suddenly, realising I had forgotten to count the doors, and had to backtrack a couple of doors to where the bathroom was. "Catherine? Are you in there?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm here!" she called back, the sound slightly muffled. I heard the merry tinkling of water suddenly cease, and she swung the door open, wiping her face with a towel. "What?" She yawned widely, and then smiled sleepily. "What did you and Sheik talk about then?"  
  
"Not much – he's coming shopping with us is all – and he wants to get going soon so we can miss the shopping crowds."  
  
"Are you sure anything will be open this early?"  
  
"Positive – everything opens early here," I told her firmly. "Excuse – I've just got to wash my face too." She let me in, and then shut the door behind the both of us, still drying her own face.  
  
"Careful – the water's pretty cold," she warned as I took a handful of the stuff straight from the tap and splashed it over myself – some trickled down the back of my shirt, which woke me up more effectively than anything else that morning. "Ah – that's better; here, give me that towel will you," I reached out a hand blindly, wondering why she wasn't talking back, and my hands fumbled against someone – cracking an eye open just enough to see, and not get the water in my eyes, I was shocked to see Sheik standing there looking agitated. "What?"  
  
"You'd best get going quickly," was all he said, nodding to Catherine.  
  
"What? Why?" I asked, this time suspiciously.  
  
"Because her majesty's blasted sorcerer is coming here for some reason – and you know full well that he isn't trustworthy," Sheik hissed so low that it was a strain to hear his words. "Now, get a move on."  
  
"Hang on!" Catherine blurted out, and then blushed when we both turned to stare at her. "Just – I need my shoes."  
  
"Go get them," I said as kindly as I could with my heart racing faster than Nostawen in full gallop. "How does Aghanim know the girl's here?" I demanded as soon as Catherine had left the room.  
  
"I don't believe he does – but he suspects I know something," Sheik answered, rubbing his temples and frowning heavily. "You two have to go – I don't like to let you, but I've got to stay here and put up with his questioning."  
  
"You mean – you're actually going to let me, little 'Miss Traitor backstabber' out of your careful watch?" I said with a sneer. He just growled low in his throat, refusing to rise to the bait. "Fine.....and just to prove that I will be coming back," I unclipped the snake armlet from my upper arm, and threw it to him; he of course caught it perfectly. "I can't get by without it." He stared at it, brow furrowed, probably trying to figure out if this was a trick.  
  
"Fine – whatever – just hurry and go. And make sure you aren't seen by him or any of his men. They're easy to spot – all his apprentices wear-"  
  
"Long black robes – I know." I rushed out of the room, not trusting myself with him. It was either start a fight with him, or beg him to forgive me the past. And neither would be very productive at the moment.  
  
Catherine was standing in the hallway, looking furtively around, and hopping from foot to foot as she waited. "Why's the sorcerer so dangerous? Why do we have to run?" she asked, even as she followed me down the stairs at a hurried pace.  
  
"I'm going to have to tell you later I'm afraid," I puffed as we reached the first floor. [Ah, how many times I have said that in the past.....?] "Just as soon as we're safe, we'll stop somewhere, and talk about it, all right?" I took her silence as a yes, and skidded on the stone floor at the bottom of the stairs on the ground floor, which was slightly wet with condensation. "Now, we'll just creep out of here, and then we'll be safe," I said, more to myself than to Catherine. She hovered next to me, wringing her hands.  
  
However, no sooner had I said it than there was a knock at the door. Sheik cracked into the visible spectrum next to us, and I had to stifle Catherine's shriek (as well as my own). "Go out of the back door – fourth on the right," he hissed, and then raised his voice. "I'm coming – wait a moment!" Then, back to us. "Go!"

* * *

* * *

_OOH! Shock, tension – Aghanim might see them – and then that game would be up. [Gasps].  
  
Til next time, review! REVIEW! (And I'll try not to leave quite so long between this and the next chapter.....)_


	7. Teaching her

**Thievery  
**  
_Disclaimer: [Looks up from the floor plan of Nintendo HQ] Not mine yet – but soon my pretties, soon I shall own them all! [Insert evil laugh here]  
  
Bloody hell, it's been a long time since I last had my flash of inspiration for this – but, all of a sudden, the muses have come running back to me! (The last chapter I actually wrote a couple of months back, and then forgot about.....heh). Anyway, my hope is to get out a load of chapters, since I've got half-term break, and make up for all the time I've been away. [Blushes guiltily]. Reading over all the reviews people had given me were kinda a booster too – so thanks!  
  
In the last chapter, we saw some more confrontations, and uneasiness – as well as a glimpse into Sheik's angsty world. [Coos adoringly]. And before I get into **that** frame of mind, I'll get on with the story!_

* * *

* * *

We stumbled along in the unfurnished hallway, I haphazardly counting the doors we flew past – the fourth we missed completely, and I had to skid and yank Catherine back to it. Flinging it open, we were presented with a high- walled courtyard area, filled with the branches of an overgrown apple-tree. The front door was opened with a resounding clatter, and I closed the door swiftly behind us.  
  
Looking around, I couldn't see any gate, and cursed Sheik for not telling us we would have to climb over the wall to escape. Again, the thought that he may be about to double-cross fluttered into my mind, and I decided we needed to flee quickly. The apple-tree, though probably terrible from a light point of view to the house, was absolutely perfect for climbing upon, with strong branches not more than four feet from the ground.  
  
Catherine seemed to realise my plan before I even knew it myself, as she grabbed onto one of these branches and attempted to hoist herself up onto it. To no avail – her slim arms strained as she tried to lift her own weight, and I pitied her; of course, she would never have had to do any such thing in her life before. "Here – let me help," I cupped my hands together and gave her a boost up, before pulling myself up as well. As quietly as we could, we crawled along and through the branches of the tree, rustling the new budding leaves on its boughs.  
  
Now came the tricky bit, as we neared the wall, and also neared the weaker ends of the branches. If we weren't careful, we'd end up snapping them and plunging a ten foot drop to the stone floor. Not the most pleasant experience I warranted, so I called our escape to a halt, and made my way around Catherine to assess the distance. Perhaps five feet? I knew I could jump that easily, but could she?  
  
Using sign language, I managed to convey what I was going to do to her. She nodded, obviously not relishing the idea, and clung onto the tree trunk whilst I gained my run up.  
  
With but a short leap, I had cleared the distance, and slammed heavily against the wall, hooking my arms over the top. Then, I scrambled up, and sat astride the impressive masonry barrier, preparing myself to catch the girl. She looked at me, quivering, and shook her head. "Come on!" I urged in a hiss. She shook her head again, and clung more insistently to the tree trunk. I couldn't exactly jump back to her – there was no guarantee I could get to that branch again. "Come on, I won't let you fall!" I hissed again.  
  
Again, she shook her head, and I cursed silently. [How am I going to make that child move?] The answer presented itself almost immediately, as the door into the courtyard below opened, and out spilled a contingent of black robed men, followed by Sheik, and a tall, bronzed man holding an ebony staff, both of whom were chatting away with forced amiability. Catherine looked down, panicked, and made a blind leap. [Stupid child!]  
  
All of those below looked up with surprise, and Sheik visibly sagged in disbelief, before shouting out, "Damn you! How many times do I have to tell you thieves to stay out of this place?" He shook his fist for good measure, and I could have laughed were it not for the fact I was hauling the shaking Catherine up onto the wall with me. "Get out, you hear me? OUT!" Sheik continued to rage, and most of the black robed men looked between him and us with shock. Aghanim barely noticed the screaming Sheik, and stared at us – I made my exit, dragging Catherine with me.  
  
The landing wasn't soft, but it wasn't too hard either. Such a shame that it happened to be in a pile of rubbish. I was winded, and Catherine was still shaking, but we were at least out of trouble for the moment. Picking myself up, I helped Catherine to her feet, and looked about us to try and get my bearings. The castle was to the left a couple of miles away, so I led Catherine down the alley next to the courtyard, and then right, to where the market place would be.  
  
Luckily, it was still early, so there weren't too many people about yet. The further away we got from Sheik's house, the better I felt; and it seemed, the more relaxed I became, the more relaxed Catherine also became. Perhaps she judged the situation upon how tense I was? I don't know. All I know is, after ten minutes of hurried travel, we slowed down, and began to look at the stalls setting up all around us in the old market town.  
  
With a grin, I noticed a music stall, and thoughts travelled back to so many years ago, when Xenia had bequeathed be a tiny ocarina. I still had it stowed away somewhere back in the angel world.....in a small velvet lined box above my bed, to be exact.

* * *

"So, where are we going to get weapons from?" Catherine asked through a mouthful of pastry that I had bought her, by way of apology for such a rude awakening that morning. (I had used the small change I still had left over). Having to flee a house before the sun is fully up cannot be much fun for someone un-used to it. [It's not much fun for those of us who are used to it!] I smiled at the thought, and then turned my attention to answering her question.  
  
"Good question – all I know is, there used to be an excellent weaponry merchant around here the last time I came. And, I'm willing to bet that it's still there, since it was a family business.....we just have to find it."  
  
"What's it called?"  
  
"You wouldn't be able to read it," I said distractedly, looking around for the sign that would lead us to the very store I wanted.  
  
"Why not?" she asked in slight surprise.  
  
"Because it's in Old Hylian, and you only know the new language. They only use it on shop fronts now."  
  
"Oh. How come you can read it then?"  
  
"Through years of study," I said, lying through my teeth. "But, if you do want to look out for it," I looked around at her, "The sign will show the current shopkeeper – and if they're anything like their ancestor, it'll be a man with a long brown beard. And, there's also a sword and shield on the sign as well."  
  
"Right – OK," she said, nodding and obviously taking note of each detail. "Sort of like that one over there?" She pointed to a sign that met the exact description I had just given her, smiling slightly.  
  
"Just like that one," I nodded, and forged ahead towards it. Then wheeled around and tugged Catherine back into the side-street we had just left.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"One of Aghanim's men," I said back, waiting for the black robed figure to move on out of sight before daring to move again. "We have to be careful; if Sheik's right, those men aren't trustworthy." [But is he trustworthy?] my subconscious wondered.  
  
"Right, let's not worry about that though – let's go and get you some weapons," I dug into my pockets to check that the money was still there. Yes, all four of the purple rupees were still securely within the pockets of my tunic, and I pushed the door open to the store. A bell tinkled merrily as it swung shut again, and a deep voice filtered down from above,  
  
"I'll just be a minute – hang on good people!" And, from the rafters dropped an almost exact replica of the last man I had seen running this very store. He had the same long, bushy beard, and beetle-black eyes that sparkled with rough intelligence. "And what can I do for you fine young ladies this morn?" he asked, wiping sweat off of his brow, and stepping behind the counter that seemed far too small for him.  
  
"My friend here needs a sword and shield, and I've heard you've the best quality weaponry in town," I said briskly.  
  
"For this lady here you say?" he asked, looking at Catherine with surprise. "Bit small, ain't you lass, to be wanting weapons yet?" Catherine didn't seem to know how to answer that, ad he directed his attention back to me. "I don't think we've anything out on display small enough for her – but I'll look about in the eaves; oh, and if you're looking for anything for yourself lady, then there are some high quality hook shots and such-like on the counter over there."  
  
[Hook shots? Link must have sold the design!] I thought, walking lazily over to the counter he pointed to, to inspect them. And, yes, they did indeed look just like the one we had used so long ago. [It's strange, but this reminds me of when I had to get a shield – I used to be as small as Catherine.....] I looked down at Catherine – until now, I'd not really notice how much I really had grown. About an extra half foot was on my height now, so that I stood at about 5' 8", compared to her just over five foot stance.  
  
Catherine stood uneasily next to me, looking at all the weaponry with wide eyes. "Do you really use all this stuff?" she asked, gesturing to the gleaming blades of the hook shots. "Back home, people just talk stuff through.....stuff like this is illegal!"  
  
"Yeah, well, where you come from, you don't have to worry about megalomaniacs trying to take over your whole people," I replied simply, picking up one of the hook shots and weighing it in my hands. It was a lot lighter than Link's one, and I wondered how far the hook would extend. However, I didn't get the chance to discover this, as the shop owner was now making his way back down from the eaves, carrying four rapiers, some short swords, and three shields – the Hylian guard one would probably be light enough for Catherine, if I remembered the weight rightly.  
  
"I've bought you a selection ladies, so you can choose the weaponry you feel most comfortable with. I trust you're trained in swordplay?" he looked at Catherine.  
  
"Well, I-"  
  
"She knows enough to know what she needs," I cut across her. Then, I distracted him by asking, "Do you have any weightier shields – I'll be needing one myself – maybe something of burnished bronze?"  
  
"I don't know if I've any left, but I'll have a look for you if you like."  
  
"That's be most kind," I nodded graciously, and watched him swing back up into the rafters. "Catherine, for goodness sake, don't let on how little you know about these things.....people will take advantage of you. No doubt, he was trying to wrangle a way to offer you lessons in swordplay."  
  
"Well, how was I supposed to know? Remember, I'm new to this stuff!" she hissed back, picking up one of the short swords and almost toppling over forwards with the weight.  
  
"Here," I picked up one of the rapiers, and handed it to her. She seemed surprised at how light it was, and swung it experimentally. "That one?" She shrugged, and I placed another of the rapiers in her hand. Again, when I asked, I received a shrug. "For demons sakes, you've got to choose one girl!" With that, I shoved the third rapier into her hand. This one was different – the handle, instead of being made of a curl of the same silver coated iron of the blade, had a handle of treated elm-wood. It had been polished to a high shine, and then the hand guard embellished with a large, circular tiger's eye stone.  
  
"I think this one will do," she said, this time swinging more definitely, and even venturing some sort of lunge. Her form was terrible, but at least it was something to work on.  
  
"Good – now, which arm do you use the most?" She held up her left, which surprised me. [The same as Link.....] I shook my head, and then picked up the Hylian shield, and weighed it in my hands. I repeated this action with the other two shields, before returning to the Hylian one, which was, as I had suspected, the lightest of the three. "OK, hold the rapier firmly in your left hand-"  
  
"Rapier?"  
  
"That's what that pointy thing you're holding is called," I said with a small grin, and she juggled the blade so that she gripped the handle more tightly (and properly). "Now, hold out your right arm, and we'll try this on you. It's not too heavy, so it should be all right." I slipped the leather straps over her arm, and kept hold on the shield until it was properly on. "Ready? I'm going to let go now, all right?" She nodded, and braced her arm.  
  
When I let go, she again seemed surprised at how little the shield weighed. "I always though these things weighed a hell of a lot more," she said quietly, on seeing that the shop keeper was back, carrying a burnished bronze shield over his shoulder.  
  
"They generally are; those are trainee weapons," I said back, before turning to the shop keeper. "Thank you my good man," I took the shield that he held out, and hooked it onto my left arm. [Not bad – not great – but it'll do.] "It's nice – maybe a little light, but I'll get used to it." I slipped it off again, and placed it onto the counter along with the rapier and the Hylian shield. "Now, how much are those hook shots you pointed out?"  
  
"Well, it depends what model you go for lady," he said with a cheery grin, again hopping out from behind the counter. He was obviously eagerly enjoying his work, as he sauntered over to the hook shots, and picked up one of the smaller ones. "Now, these have an extendable cord of ten yards, and these," he moved onto the largest on the counter, "can have coils of up to thirty yards installed, but at extra cost."  
  
"Do you have any long shots?" I asked, and his eyes lit up in surprise.  
  
"Not many people ask for those nowadays – in fact, not many people know about them."  
  
"Well, I'm just interested in this stuff," I said offhandedly.  
  
"Right – well, the long shots can cover distances of sixty yards at a push – and there's much more coil for your money in them."  
  
"How much exactly?"  
  
"Oh, forty rupees."  
  
"Forty?" I took a deep breath, cast my mind about for the right bartering manner, and then began. "Well, I'll give you twenty for one of the compact models."  
  
"Twenty, you must be mad woman! I won't accept a rupee less than forty!"  
  
"Twenty five."  
  
"Thirty five."  
  
Catherine was watching us as though it were a tennis match, her head moving from side to side as each of us named our prices. Soon, we had moved on to the shields, and lastly the rapier, which was by far the most expensive item, starting off at eighty rupees. Finally, the shop keeper and I shook hands, and grinned brightly at one another. "So, thirty for the long shot, eighty for the two shields, and fifty for the rapier. I believe that comes to-"  
  
"One hundred and sixty," Catherine said quietly, almost immediately after the man had announced the final prices. I turned around, and she just shrugged, "I like maths?" I just grinned, and handed the man all four of my purple rupees. In return, he gave me a red rupee, three blue, and five green, which I pocketed.  
  
"Nice doing business with you," the man called after us as we left the shop, Catherine carrying her rapier and the long shot, and I struggling to fit both of the shields through the door and out into the street.  
  
"Wait up," I called after her, and she stopped and waited for me to catch up. "Right, now, let's get this thing on you so I don't have to carry it."  
  
"Gee, thanks, I feel loved," she muttered sarcastically, as I slung the shield's tie over her head, and then pulled her right arm through so that it settled comfortably across her chest. Then, I took the rapier, and did the same, with the tie going in the opposite direction. "Hmm, now I know what people mean by lifts, holds and separates," she said as she shuffled with the ties, and I smirked, thinking back to old television shows I sometimes watched when there wasn't anything else to do.  
  
"Your welcome," I said, slipping my own new shield on easily, and clipping the long shot onto my belt. "Now, how long have we been away?"  
  
"Three quarters of an hour," Catherine answered immediately, glancing at the time piece on her arm. I noticed that it was a digital watch, and made her pull her sleeve back down immediately. "What?"  
  
"What do you think these people will think if they see that on your wrist?" I muttered, and comprehension dawned on her face. "Exactly. Now, let's see if we can find something to do for a while before we go back." Music drifted to my ears from the main square, and I smiled. "Aha, perfect." Then, I careered off, Catherine hurrying to keep up with me as I made my way to where the music was being played.  
  
Alas.....it was not the Sheikan band I had been longing for. Of course, most of them had died, either in protecting the Princess, or in clearing the land after the great darkness. Only Sheik was left to the public, and the rest; well, they kept to themselves now.  
  
This wasn't to say that the music wasn't good, because it was. Exceptionally so – and it was interesting to see that the band was comprised of not one race, not two, but three. There were two Gerudo women, one playing the bongos, and the other one expertly strumming upon a guitar. Then, a Hylian woman, and two Hylian men, playing the flute, the trumpet and the ocarina, respectively. And last of all (and perhaps strangest of all), a Zoran woman, clad in a floor length dress of sapphire blue, was dancing about with a timbrel in her hand, encouraging people to also dance.  
  
I leant against the stone walls which encompassed a large graveyard, most of which given over to the people who died in the darkness, which now lay next to the Temple of Time. Catherine looked around her in quiet amazement, and I didn't blame her. As always, the square was a whorl of colour and sound; I let the ambience wash over me, forgetting for a short while what I was doing here. I even began to forget who I was, and imagined myself to be a normal, everyday Hylian.  
  
Catherine slid down the wall and sat on the cool flagstones, hugging her knees and looking thoughtful. I followed suit, still watching the Zoran woman as she performed acrobatics for the growing morning crowds.  
  
"What's up kid?" I asked.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Liar."  
  
"Well, it's great to be here and all – but it's not how I imagined it."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"It sounds stupid.....but.....I always saw Hyrule as a small place – quiet, you know. People kept themselves to themselves."  
  
"That's because you only know about the Hyrule through the darkness – people kept themselves to themselves, or they got killed," I said, reeling off from historical texts.  
  
"I know – I'm not complaining – it's just strange." I had a feeling that that wasn't really what she was thinking about at all, but I let it go. No point in pushing the girl too far if she didn't want to be pushed.

* * *

"Are you sure it'll be safe to go back?" Catherine asked, as we began to make our slow way back to Sheik's large, and empty house. "I mean, what is that sorcerer is still there, and all those guys in the cloaks, and stuff?"  
  
"Don't worry – if they are, then we'll just have to run like hell," I answered sweetly, and she hmphed, even though there was a smile on her face. "Anyway, I don't want Sheik to get anymore pissed off than he already is."  
  
"What is all that about between you two?"  
  
"It's complicated....."  
  
"Let me guess; 'I'm not old enough to understand'?"  
  
"It's not that – demons, not even I understand quite what's going on," I admitted. "But, it's complicated, that I do know." Catherine nodded, and looked down at the ground as we went on. Quite soon after that burst of conversation, we ran into a cluster of black cloaked people leaving a homely little tavern, and had to backtrack into a side alley to duck behind some crates until they passed. After that, we luckily had no more mishaps, and got back to the house about two hours after we originally left.  
  
I was about to knock, when the door opened, and I was yanked through the door, which was slammed quietly shut behind me, cutting off Catherine's cries of protest. "Mmpphh!" I attempted to yell through a hand over my mouth, and was then released. I drew my breath in silent gasps, and looked up to see whom my assailant was. "Sheik?"  
  
"Shh, keep it down!" he growled, looking over his shoulder. "They're still here – take the girl and wait for me in the Temple of Time."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Just go!" And with that, I was pushed back out into the early morning sunshine, and confronted by a startled looking Catherine.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Apparently they're still there," I said, straightening my tunic, which had become ruffled in the struggle, which received an amused glance from Catherine. "Don't even think about saying anything about the tunic," I warned, and then carried on with the explanation. "We're to go and wait for Sheik in the Temple of Time." We turned back the way we had come, and set off walking again. [Whilst we wait, I can teach her how to use those weapons – no one will be in during the celebrations – not until the evening anyway.]  
  
Yet again, we came up against some of the black cloaked contingent, though this time, they saw us before we saw them. "Halt!" a young man called, hurrying along so fast that his cowl flew back from his face. "By the order of Aghanim, we order you to stop."  
  
"On my count, run," I hissed to Catherine, as we waited for the group of black cloaked men to get to us. I reached into my pocket, in which were contained no less than twenty Deku-nuts that I had succeeded in – 'borrowing' shall we say – from Sheik, a few minutes prior. When I guessed that they were close enough to be stunned by the flash, I withdrew my hand, and threw down three of them in quick succession. "Now, run!"  
  
I pushed Catherine ahead of me, and cursed with all the curses I knew. [I hate running. Hate it. Can't stand it. Worst thing could possibly do – bloody running]. And so on, over and over in my mind as we fled Aghanim's followers, twisting and turning until I began to feel slightly dizzy. "Right, we can stop now," I panted, and pressed my hands onto my knees, taking in air.  
  
"What did you throw? Was that a Deku-nut?" Catherine asked (not out of breath at all).  
  
"Yeah – well, three of them actually." I straightened up, forcing myself to breathe normally again. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Well, I didn't think they were real, until you used them," she said. "Can I see one?"  
  
I withdrew one from my pocket and handed it to her. "Just don't drop it now, or we'll be stunned, which wouldn't be good." She studied it for a few seconds, and then handed it carefully back to me. I dropped it back into my pocket, and then looked around us. "Now – where do we go from here?"  
  
"Please tell me you do know where we are," Catherine begged.  
  
"Well, we're in Hyrule, I can tell you that much," I said distractedly, looking around at yet another of the streets that hadn't been here when I was last here. "The Temple of Time is to the north however, so where's the sun," I looked up, and managed to get my bearings from the sun, so that I knew roughly which way we had to go. North was directly through the house in front of us, so I set off down the street, and then turned left at the first opportunity. Not too far away could be the seen the great white stone mass of the Temple of Time, gleaming in the morning light.  
  
"There you are – that's where we're going," I said, pointing at it confidently.  
  
"And I'm coming with," I jumped, and found that Sheik was strolling down the street after us. "That was an impressive escape from the black cloakers."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"They asked me where you went, so I directed them to the 'laughing Din'. I think they deserve to experience the smell of the place first hand." Catherine tittered slightly, and then bit her lip to contain her laughter. "So, onto the Temple? It'll be quiet at the moment, and I can't think of anywhere safer for her to practice with her weapons."  
  
"My thoughts exactly," I nodded, and then allowed him to lead, since he knew more than I did about the current town.

* * *

* * *

"Ouch!" Catherine landed heavily with a thud on the stone floor of the Temple of Time's foyer. She scowled up at Sheik, who had just battled her to the floor in a record time of three seconds. "No need to be so rough!"  
  
"Well, if you're not going to make use of your shield, you're going to get hurt," he said back, yanking her to her feet. "Now, let's try again shall we? And maybe this time, you can manage to actually stay on your feet for more than ten seconds?" He picked up one of the battle staffs that he had bought with him from the watchtower of the Temple, and handed it to her, before taking one of his own. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Maybe Catherine should have a rest," I suggested, as she inexpertly jostled the battle staff from her right to her left hand.  
  
"We have three days left until he gets back, and you're asking for a rest?" Sheik barked in disbelief. "This girl needs to know how to defend herself, and we're not exactly blessed with a long time to teach her how."  
  
"I know, but if we exhaust her, it's not going to help anyone, is it?" I said back curtly. "Just a few minutes for her to rest, and then we'll get back to training her." I turned to Catherine, who was putting the staff down gently on the floor. "That's all right with you, I trust?"  
  
"Fine by me – I'm ready to drop!"  
  
"It's only been half an hour," Sheik pointed out scathingly.  
  
"And I've never held a weapon in my life, so I think I've done pretty well, considering," she snapped back, following her staff to the floor, and sitting cross legged there.  
  
"Right; five minutes, and then back to training you," Sheik conceded, and began to pace back and forth, twirling his own staff in his fingers. "Oh," he said suddenly, seeming to remember something. "Your armlet," he threw it to me, and I caught it fumblingly.  
  
"Thanks." I slipped it back onto my arm, and then studied the shield I'd bought, following the carvings on the burnished metal with a finger. I allowed my eyes to unfocus, and pretended to be somewhere else. (I actually pretended that I was in the smithies with Ollie and Jamie, helping them to construct new weaponry for their various missions, and repair my own.)  
  
"Hey," Catherine's voice rang out, causing Sheik to stop his pacing, and I to be jolted back into the coherent world. "Maybe you two could show me proper battle form – or whatever it's called. You know, so I can learn by osmosis."  
  
"Os-what?" Sheik blinked; obviously, Hylian science wasn't so advanced yet.  
  
"It refers to how leaves absorb water – it just means if she watches us fight, she'll pick it up," I explained. "That was what you meant, wasn't it?" Catherine nodded. [Oh great – now he has an excuse to hurt me.....] "Well, if you think it will help....." She nodded again, and had a pleading look in her eyes that I just couldn't refuse. "Fine – pass me your staff," she handed it to me, and Sheik put his into combat position.  
  
"Watch and learn kid," Sheik murmured, glaring at me with frighteningly unbridled hate. His eyes were burning with an intense fire that made him look about ready to go over the edge, and not come back. "Ready?" he asked, smirking. I put aside everything else that I was thinking about, glad of my decision to take up the studies of mental, as well as physical training in the past years. Now, my head was a nice, clear space, filled with moves and combinations that I could use in the impeding battle.  
  
[Of course, Sheik has had a _lot _more time in which to perfect his skills] I thought with apprehension, before again clearing my mind. "Ready," I nodded, swinging my staff so that I grasped it horizontally with both hands. "First to fall?" He nodded. "Hope this helps kiddo – start us off will you?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Just say 'go' or something."  
  
"Oh – right." She left a short pause, and then yelled, "Go!"  
  
Sheik lunged forwards quickly – more quickly than I could have imagined, and it took all my concentration just to sidestep in time, and whirl around to confront him, staff raised. He lunged again, and again I sidestepped, like a bull fighter side steps the bull. I was ready on the third charge however, and our staffs clashed together, the shock of it jarring through me. Sheik's eyes were complacent as he forced me backwards with his superior strength and weight – I'd have to use brains rather than brawn to beat him, and even that would be difficult enough.  
  
So, I put my last reserves of strength into pushing, in order to urge him to push forwards harder, before suddenly stopping, and stepping out of the way again. However, he had been fighting far too long to be fooled by that trick, and managed to regain his balance quickly. Before I could block, the staff had connected hard against the knuckles of my left hand, and I dropped the staff – he took this opportunity in his stride, and kicked it away with his foot, so that it rolled across the floor.  
  
Then, he raised his staff in order to deal the blow that would floor me. Quick as a flash, I kicked his shin, which though not very stylish, was nonetheless effective, as it bought me the few seconds I needed to retrieve my weapon. Thus, it started again, now with us circling one another, parrying with testing blows, seeing how our opponent's strengths and weaknesses could help us defeat them. A quiet roar was in my ears as I processed the battle data, and admired his beautiful technique.  
  
Another lunge came, and I was prepared, leaping out of the way and countering with a lunge of my own. It bought him down onto one knee, and I skidded to a halt to turn around and finish it. A poke in the gut with the end of his staff stopped that idea, and he got to his feet again, sweat gleaming on his brow. I wiped the perspiration on my face away with the back of my hand, hovering in wait for his next move.  
  
With a harsh battle cry, he flew towards me again, and I worried at the smile on his face. I sidestepped, but he altered his course to follow my move, and bought the staff crashing horizontally into my ribcage – the blow landed with such force, that it was either concede to fall, or break the ribs. I fell, clutching the injured area, and panting heavily. "And that," Sheik dropped his staff, "is how you fight, kid." He stalked off, not bothering to help me up, and I had to wait for Catherine to assist me.  
  
"Wow," she said in an awed voice. "You two were awesome! It must be so cool to be able to fight so well!"  
  
"Yeah – well, obviously, I don't fight quite well enough," I grunted, rubbing my sore side. "Looks like I'll be needing some more practice too. Come on, let's get back to your defence, shall we?" Catherine picked up her shield, and was about to put it onto her arm, when Sheik came back, a look of annoyance on his face.  
  
"It looks like we'll have to leave – those bloody street performers are bringing their shows in here," he said darkly. "It'd be best if we continued the rest of this session outside of the Town's walls."  
  
"Oh, so where do you suggest?" I asked. [He used to like street performers – demons, he used to be one. What has happened to him?] The years had done a lot more to him than I thought they could have. It wasn't just me he was cold to – it was everything and everyone. [Maybe I can help him to thaw a little..... Stop it 'lex.] I used the clearing technique to remove the ridiculous notion from my mind, and listened to Sheik's suggestion.  
  
"Well, there's wide open plains outside the walls, dotted about with a few farmsteads – we can just use one of the public fields. No one will be there today."  
  
"I hope you're right," I muttered, as he proceeded to lead us out of the Temple of Time, and past the 'bloody street performers' down the steps. Then, he carried on, leading us swiftly through the town, ducking and dodging around all the haunts of the black cloaked people, until we reached the gate into the main field. We stopped at the drawbridge, and Sheik went to speak at the guard by the chain which raised and lowered it.  
  
The guard snapped to attention, and raised a hand to his head in a salute. "General sir!" he said in greeting, and Sheik returned the salute stiffly.  
  
"At ease, soldier. Have you seen any black cloaks come past in the last five hours?"  
  
"No sir. Why sir?"  
  
"I just want to know where the meddling creatures are," Sheik laughed wryly, and the guard grinned. "Now, listen carefully – do not let any of them out of this Town for three hours, understand?" The guard nodded. "And, if any of them ask, you have not seen me – do this for me, and I'll see to it that you can by Kyrii that ruby necklace she desires." The guard smiled more widely, and saluted again as we passed over the drawbridge.  
  
"General?" I said as we walked over the green grass. "You didn't tell me you were a general!" He grabbed my arm, and nodded at Catherine to walk on ahead, before leaning down to whisper venomously into my ear.  
  
"And you didn't think to tell anyone what a cheating, conniving traitor you were. I don't really think the two crimes can be compared." He released my arm again, and marched to walk in front of Catherine, and carry on leading us to one of the 'public fields'. I rubbed my arm, and looked down at the floor as we carried on walking.  
  
[Damn Sheikah].

* * *

* * *

_OOH, someone's a grumpy whee git, aren't they?  
  
Sheik: What do you expect? [Frowns, and picks at the baby pink bunny rabbit suit he has been made to wear by the strange author]  
  
Soda: But! Hallow'een – and you needed a costume – and – and [sniffles]  
  
Sheik: But a rabbit! Couldn't I be something more manly?  
  
Soda: Well [grins] I suppose I could [snaps fingers]  
  
Sheik: [Looks down – sees loincloth] Oh Goddesses.....  
  
Soda: Hehehe, I like this costume better.....  
  
Sheik: O.o  
  
RR, and hopefully it won't be too long for the next chapter. _


	8. A lifetime to catch up

**Thievery**  
  
_Disclaimer: Once I get Miyamoto back to my secret mountain lair and get him to sign the series over to me.....then, they shall be mine. But for now – am just borrowing.  
  
In the last chapter, we basically saw some weaponry being bought, some dodging about, and then a little combat between Sheik and Alexis/Blaise (it confuses me too now!) In this chapter, we should hopefully be able to progress onto something a little more interesting (and I might end up switching into some third POV in the middle in order to show what's going on more easily, OK?)  
  
I never said my stories were easy to understand ;)  
  
:: :: = Ganondorf's thoughts and [] = Alexis' thoughts and italics = memories (I keep forgetting to put them sorry!)_

_

* * *

* * *

_

[Damn Sheikah] I cursed as he was once again railing at me for letting Catherine rest in her training. It seemed that that thought was trapped on a constant reel inside my head, and I was getting sick and tired of his ostentatious attitude. Roaring like that I heard in battle was ringing around in my head, blocking out the words he was yelling at me. I was vaguely aware of Catherine hovering behind me, and I protecting her from the advancing Sheik with an outstretched hand.  
  
[When is he going to shut up?] I asked myself, stifling a yawn before it managed to get to my mouth. ['We haven't got enough time to mess around.....yada yada yada..... as if I don't already know.....] Finally, the roaring reached such a fever pitch that I let my anger explode (yet again). "Look Sheik, you may be a fucking General, but try to remember that we're not in your army; demons, we're not even from this land, so why don't you stop handing out orders and start taking some, hmm?" He just glowered, and then stalked off, juggling his staff from one hand to the other.  
  
"Eesh," Catherine breathed shakily, and I turned around to see her rubbing the back of her neck and looking timidly at the ground. "I know you said you didn't get on – but you didn't say how much you didn't get on," she said when she noticed my glance.  
  
"Yeah, well.....I thought maybe he'd be able to act like a grown up and put it aside – but I guess not," I answered back, just as quietly. "Come on, we may as well get back to camp."  
  
We had set up camp within the field we were using for Catherine's training, so that we wouldn't have to worry about the black cloaks every minute of the day and night. Sheik had used his status in order to get army supplies, which included the two tents, food and, surprisingly, he had even thought to go back and get Nostawen for me. He also had his own horse, and another, small charger, for Catherine (who luckily already knew how to ride).  
  
"How many days is it now until Ganondorf gets back?" Catherine asked as she set her weapons down next to her roll mat, and let her braided hair out of it's ponytail.  
  
"He comes back tomorrow," I answered darkly, and then added as an afterthought, "at dawn I think. But, if we're lucky, the Sages will have been able to divert his course to the Spirit Temple in the desert."  
  
"Why would that be any better?" she asked curiously, now slipping her shoes off (light and supple ankle boots).  
  
"It would buy us some time at least....." I answered. "You know – so we can prepare how we're actually going to get the Tri-Force piece away from him."  
  
"It won't be easy, will it?" she asked, sighing heavily, as she no doubt already knew the answer.  
  
"I'm afraid not. But, I promise that I'll do whatever I can to make sure you're kept safe."  
  
"Don't you ever think of yourself?" she grinned this time, and I smiled wryly.  
  
"I've spent a long time looking after other people," I said simply, picking up her weapons and mine to tuck them away in the traveller's chest at the far end of the tent. "And, now, what would you like to eat? We have..... salted meat, bread, or – whatever this is." I held up some indescribably strange vegetable, and she wrinkled her nose at the smell which exuded from it.  
  
"I think I'll give it a miss thanks – bread will do fine."  
  
"I agree," I dropped the strange thing back into the food store, and ripped a loaf of bread into two halves, one of which I handed to Catherine. "Tuck in." I bit hungrily into my own half of the bread, and chewed thoughtfully, wondering yet again how we were going to get the Tri-Force of Power away from Ganondorf. There was no way he'd be giving it up without a fight – and we didn't have the Master Sword to help out this time around.

* * *

When night had fallen, and Catherine was asleep, I left the tent, and sat outside on the cool grass of the field, looking up at the sky. Clouds had drawn in, so there were only a few pockets of stars left, though they were disappearing fast. The moon was completely covered, so the only strong lights were those of farmsteads dotted all around the expanse of Hyrule field.  
  
I had the feeling that I wasn't alone in my vigil, and a slight rustling proved me right; looking around, I saw Sheik sitting outside of his own tent, legs crossed Indian-style. He was holding one of his twin swords, the blade of which was stuck into the earth; then, his hands were on the pommel, and he leant on his hands, snoozing lightly. I never had been able to master that technique of night vigils – sleeping whilst you could, but still staying alert.  
  
No matter – he wasn't exactly all that important to me at that moment. I was more interested in continuing in my attempts at plans to remove the Tri- Force pieces from their current owners. The terrible thing was, in every single scenario, I would have to come face to face with Link again. And I really didn't think I could do that; especially if he harboured as much hatred for me as Sheik did.  
  
[So, where does that leave me and the carrier girl?] I wondered, rubbing my frozen forearms and studying the grass in great detail. I plucked a shoot from the ground, and rolled it between my fingers as I carried on thinking. [If I could just ditch Sheik, this would be easier.....] I looked around at a slight thud, and saw that he had fallen away from his sword, and was lying curled on the ground next to it. [Maybe this is my chance.] I stood up, and padded back to Catherine and mine's tent, making sure that he wasn't about to stir.  
  
Catherine was still sound asleep, the blankets pulled over her head, and her legs curled up beneath her like a cat. I set about picking up all my weapons, and then swept all the food I could carry into my pack. Next was the tricky part – wake Catherine up without waking Sheik as well. I pulled the covers away from her head, and swiftly clamped a hand over her mouth to stop the confused questions she was no doubt going to ask.  
  
"Be quiet, and get your stuff – we're leaving."  
  
"What about Sh-?"  
  
"He's staying here," I answered bluntly, handing her the sword and shield I'd bought her. "Don't ask – just put those on." She obediently pulled them on, and watched my every move with wide eyes. "Ready?" she nodded, and I pushed the flap of the tent back, only to find that Sheik had moved [fuck!] But, nothing ventured, nothing gained, or so they say..... So, I plunged out into the night, Catherine following behind me, and hurried over to the fence which surrounded the public field.  
  
We reached the stile without any mishap, which scared the hell out of me – where was he? He should have seen us, caught us, and possibly tried to kill me again by now. But, no – he wasn't there at all. A dark feeling rose in the pit of my stomach, even as I vaulted over the stile, and then helped Catherine climb down on the other side.  
  
Footsteps crunched behind us, and I turned, almost smiling with relief now that I knew he was all right. [Get a grip on yourself!] I fixed a scowl on my face, which turned to horror when I saw it wasn't him. This figure had a black cloak, and held a blue something over their shoulder, puffing as they carried it along. Whoever it was didn't seem to have noticed us yet, so I pushed Catherine backwards into the shadows, and then cleared my throat. They started, and dropped their load, which moaned and rolled over. [So that's where he went.]  
  
"What are you doing here, black cloak?" I asked, deciding on using the same term as Sheik and the guards did.  
  
"Looking for the General actually," they answered gruffly (make that 'he'). "Her Majesty's sorcerer requires to speak with him."  
  
"I didn't think it was common practice for such matters to be dealt with like this," I said, nodding to Sheik, who it was plain to see had been knocked hard over the head. "And, if he only wants to speak to him, why doesn't he come himself?" I unsheathed my sword as I advanced, easily traversing the stile to get back into the field and stalk towards the black cloak. He bent down over Sheik, and shrouded him with his cloak. "What do you think you're doing?" I rushed forwards, and pressed the Mithril blade against the back of his neck. "Stand up slowly, and back away from him."  
  
"All right – all right." He stood up slowly, and then backed away, shaking slightly. I took a moment to look at Sheik again, and check that nothing else had been done to him. Then, I returned my attention to the black cloak, and walked around to his front side in order to intimidate him a little more.  
  
"Now, tell me the real reason you were taking the General away, unconscious and defenceless, in the middle of the night," I insisted, the blade at his pulsing jugular.  
  
"I already said, to talk to-" I pressed the cold metal closer to his flesh to make my point clear. "I'll not tell!" he cried, and before I knew what was happening, there was a blinding flash of light, and then all that was left was an empty black cloak floating to the ground, and sunspots dancing in my eyes.  
  
"Ow, shit!" I balled my fists over my eyes, and realised what the flash was [deku nuts – he took them from Sheik's belt!] Catherine was suddenly standing next to me, her arm around my shoulders, and pulling my hands away from my eyes. "Let go," I murmured putting my hands back, and rubbing away the blood pouring from the burst blood vessels in my eyes. Deku-nuts at close range were bloody painful!  
  
"But you're hurt!"  
  
"I'll be fine – just be quiet, and keep out of the way for a moment." I walked around her to where Sheik was prone on the floor, and, biting back the urge to do something rather more inappropriate, considering the current situation, shook him by the shoulders. "Sheik – come on, get up." His eyes flicked open, and he looked dazed.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"It was a black cloak Sheik – he stole your Deku-nuts and transported away before I could figure out why he was attempting to kidnap you." I held up the black fabric which was all that remained of the sorcerer's follower. "You got any ideas why?" He was sitting up by now, and rubbing the drying blood away from his forehead. He frowned, blinked, shook his head, and then seemed to finally realise that it was me talking. Then, he scowled darkly, and yanked the cloak right out of my hands.  
  
"You shouldn't touch this – we'll have to burn it now, or they'll know that you were here as well."  
  
"They will anyway – the guy saw me, remember?" I pointed out in annoyance.  
  
"He was a crony – he'd have no idea who you were in the dark – but with this, they can magically link it." He balled the cloak up, and then wandered over to the dying embers of the earlier campfire we'd had going. Then he stoked them with a long branch to make the embers catch, and then he threw the cloak onto the merrily dancing flames. "There." He kicked some more sticks onto the fire to really get it going, and then walked back over to where Catherine and I were waiting.  
  
"Well, what do you suggest now then, General?" I asked, still rubbing tears of blood as they seeped down my face. Catherine was staring in sick fascination, but it didn't seem to disturb Sheik all that much. [He's probably seen this a million times before.] However, he did pause to reach into his remaining pouch, and pulled out what looked like an acorn. "What's this for?"  
  
"Chew it into a paste, and then put a stripe of it under each eye," he reeled off like a textbook. "It'll make the eyes heal faster."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Now, we sleep – and tomorrow, we start the real work."  
  
"Real work?"  
  
"I assumed you could count, but obviously not..... He returns tomorrow," he said simply, and then walked into his tent without so much as another word.  
  
"I take that as dismissal?" Catherine quipped as we both walked back to the second tent.  
  
"Aye, me too."

* * *

* * *

::Blasted weaklings!:: Ganondorf cursed as he fired yet another round of dark magic at the pesky Sages, who had thrown themselves after him out of the Sacred Realm, all that time ago. ::How long have I been in this ridiculous fall?:: He looked down, to see the small replica of Hyrule not much larger than the last time he'd looked. He could feel that he was slowing down, but knew he was also still going at a steady clip.  
  
There was a commotion above, and he wondered what they were up to now. Didn't they realise that they couldn't harm him? He shook his head and smirked, allowing the currents to carry on pulling him back to the world. ::It's not like I'm in any real hurry – another few hours or days won't make any difference.....:: He closed his eyes and followed the gentle coaxings of the currents as they bore him ever closer to the land that was going to be _his_. And he would not relinquish it again.  
  
Something cool brushed over his left hand, creeping across his Tri-Force piece. ::What?:: He blinked open his eyes, and found himself amused to see that the weaklings had finally approached him outright. The white light ::that Link boy's fairy.....:: was tugging at his clenched fist, and firing her puny magic into the glowing triangular mark on his skin. It stung a little, but apart from that, the fairy wasn't achieving much other than to annoy him. "Gah!" he flung his hand outwards, and sent the tiny winged woman flying.  
  
As soon as this was done, the closest sages to him (being the green-haired kid, and that Sheikah woman) grabbed hold of his outstretched arm, and then the white fairy joined tiny hands with the sunbeam yellow one. "Pull Navi, pull hard as you can!" the green-haired girl cried, wrapping her tiny tapered fingers into the folds of Ganondorf's cloak, so that he couldn't shake her off. Navi pulled as hard as she could against the currents, and Ganondorf could feel them changing course.  
  
"NO!" he used his own magic to pull back – something, however, was muffling it's power. "Argh!" He clenched his teeth and yanked as hard as he could, only succeeding into pulling back half the distance.  
  
"You forget that your magic won't work to full strength between worlds Ganondorf!" the Sheikah woman panted, blinking sweat from her scarlet eyes. "Keep at it Navi!"  
  
"Damn you!" Ganondorf cried, as they moved towards the portal to the Temple of Time, and then swept straight past it, the other sages tumbling through. They carried onwards, until they came upon an orange-glowing portal, the pull of which they couldn't escape from, and tumbled through that. "NO!" Ganondorf kicked and lashed out, managing to dislodge the meddling sages, who went floating upwards, being pulled at by yet another of the portals, this one being shadowy purple, like the Sheikah's magic.  
  
He couldn't escape the riptide of this nameless orange portal, and was sucked down. The last he saw of in-between the worlds were the two tiny dots of light – one yellow, and one white – being pulled in by the purple portal above. ::Curses. I'll get that fairy, and make sure she stays dead next time!::

* * *

* * *

Sheik roused us even before dawn had hit the sky, and walking out of the tent, I saw that he had already packed his up. "Here," he threw a canvas bag to me. "Pack your tent into that, and leave it here – I've got some men coming to pick this stuff up in a few hours."  
  
"Very organised of you," I observed quietly, watching him as he stared into the far distance, in the direction of the desert waste. "Hey, Catherine, help me pack this up will you?" She just grinned, and set about pulling the pegs out of the ground in an expert fashion. "Have you done this before by any chance?"  
  
"Yeah – my uncle and aunt always take me camping on holiday."  
  
"What about your mum and dad? I bet they enjoy the quiet time," I said, with a sad grin on thinking about families. She didn't answer, and I looked up. I was shocked to see that she had stopped dead, clutching a tent peg and looking close to tears. [Oh demons.....] "I'm sorry – are they?" She just nodded, and then returned to her work with renewed passion. "How long have they-?"  
  
"A couple of years," she said quietly, and then looked up with a wan smile. "Don't worry about it, you didn't know."  
  
"I know how it feels though.....I lost all my family when I was younger," I told her, taking the tent pegs from her hands and stuffing them into the bag.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered, now seeming to see me in a new light. "How did you manage to cope with it?"  
  
"Uh – I'm not sure I was really 'coping' with it," I said with a dry laugh. "Come on, let's stop talking about this shall we?"  
  
"Yeah..... Shall we take the tent canvas off now?"  
  
"Good idea." We carried on working in a subdued manner, having come to a silent understanding about one another for the moment. After removing the canvas, we took apart the skeleton poles of the tent, and placed them in the bag with the rest of it. This left only the beds inside, and our stuff – the beds were easy enough to put away, as all we had to do was fold them in half. Then, we piled all the stuff up next to Sheik's, and sat down on the floor for a rest, dusting off our hands and smiling now that the job was over.  
  
"How long has he been like that?" Catherine asked suddenly, pointing at Sheik, who was now sitting astride the stile into the field, and every so often turning his head, so that he spent some time looking towards the desert, before then looking at the Castle Town, and so on. At every moment, the light caught the blue-black bruising on his forehead in a new light, and I was strangely fascinated by the injury. I managed to snap myself out of it quickly enough, and then shrugged at Catherine's question.  
  
"No idea."  
  
"Well, any ideas why he's sitting there then?"  
  
"Oh, that's easy enough – he's looking out for where Ganondorf will be re- entering the world. As I said, if he lands in the desert, it'll buy us some much needed time." She nodded, and bought her knees up to clasp them close to her chest, following Sheik's line of sight each time it changed. I didn't bother – the re-entry would make itself more than apparent when it did come..... [How do I know that?] I asked myself, startled at the revelation. Wow.....the portal information was much better than I had thought it was, I discovered, as I began to go over it all in my mind in the quiet of the before dawn time.  
  
"The sun's coming up!" Catherine cried, pointing east towards Kakariko, a few minutes after we had finished our pack up. I looked up, and saw that she was right – a blood red sun was rising above the small mountain town, throwing fire over the clouds scudding northwards. In the west, the sky was mirroring the brightness of the dawn, throwing a great fire into the sky. "Look!" Catherine pointed northwards, and I jumped up to my feet at what I saw. Yet another great fire of red and orange burned in the sky over the Castle-town, leaving only the south a dull grey blue.  
  
I hurried over to Sheik, who was also looking from the north to west, perplexed. Anger forgotten for the moment, I leant on the fence next to him, and muttered low so that Catherine wouldn't hear. "You don't think he could have bought back anything else from the Sacred Realm with him, do you?"  
  
"I don't know....." he murmured, the redness of the sky dancing over his furrowed brow. "I don't know....." he repeated, now hopping down off of the stile, and standing next to me. "But if he has....." he looked at me darkly. "If he has, and they're in the Town....." Comprehension dawned in my mind, and I looked over my shoulder at Catherine. "We'll have to leave her somewhere that'll be safe."  
  
"Can you think of anywhere?"  
  
"I – I could ask Artemis," he said to himself, and then looked up. "Right, we have to move quickly – dump the kid and then check the Town – hopefully the guards can hold it until we get there."  
  
"Aye, hopefully. Hopefully there won't be anything to hold against....." I mused, and he nodded. It was nice that we could finally co-operate. Of course, it wouldn't last; but it would be nice whilst it did. Both of us feared for the Town, so we would just have to work together. [And I bet he hates it] I thought with smug relish.  
  
"Catherine!" she jumped at the sound of her own name. "Come on, we have to get moving girl," Sheik walked over and ushered her along – I followed at the rear, my sword already out.  
  
"Who's this Artemis?" I asked, as we left the field, and began to traverse the small rutted roads that ran between all the farming lands.  
  
"A friend of mine," Sheik answered guardedly, turning off of the road, and making his way down to a small stream, besides which stood a run-down cottage. I didn't even ask when he walked up to it and pushed the door open. I didn't need to – I had far too much experience to know this place would be more than it seemed.  
  
A mouldy rug lay on the floor, which Sheik removed to reveal a set of steps leading downwards into darkness. He went down first, with Catherine following, and I, once again, at the back – I paused to pull the rug back into place, before hurrying after the other two. The stairs had led us down into a set of dank, dark passageways. For one horrible moment, I was reminded of the Gerudo fortress.....  
  
_Ganondorf then proceeded to drag me through a myriad of passages, my head reeling as the pain intensified ten-fold. The only thing I could liken it to was having my wings torn away – but that at least was in the past. This pain was here and now, and wasn't going away.  
  
Finally, we stopped outside a heavy metal door, and he let go of me. [You idiot] I chuckled to myself, and turned to sprint away down the corridor. He didn't seem to notice, and I turned two corners before stopping to catch my breath. Footsteps approached, and I shrank back into the shadows. They were coming closer, and I turned to run the other way – only to face the woman Naomi, accompanied by another, who looked just as cruel._   
  
I shuddered, and pulled myself out of the memories, to find that we had stopped in a large chamber with high, vaulted ceilings, and narrow stone shelves piled one on top of the other at either side of us. On each of the shelves was a white sheet, covering something about the same size and shape as a human..... [These are catacombs!] I realised, and shrank away from the white shrouded things, looking around for any evidence of life. The only sounds were of our breathing, and the crackling of fire in the torch sconces which lit the entire room.  
  
"Artemis," Sheik called out, his voice echoing in the vast chamber, and stirring dust motes in the air. "Artemis, it's Sheik – I need your help old friend."  
  
"Help? Why do you need help?" a soft voice seemed to float down from nowhere and everywhere. "I know you're hurt, but that isn't it.....and he isn't close enough yet for that help."  
  
"I need you to protect this girl for me," he turned around and looked at Catherine, who was looking terrified. I put an arm on her shoulder and squeezed it gently for reassurance.  
  
"Indeed? And who am I protecting her from?" a small, lithe figure detached itself from a huge, spectacularly carved statue of a Sheikah man, and landed in the shadows in front of Sheik. "No one too dangerous I hope?"  
  
"I don't know whether you can call the black cloaks dangerous....." Sheik laughed. "Look, come over here and let me introduce you!"  
  
"If I must," the person sighed good heartedly, and ambled forwards. The light spread across them, and I found myself looking down at a child, who couldn't be older than around ten. He fumbled slightly on his way, and when he looked up, I noticed firstly that he was a Sheikah, by the red eyes, and secondly, that he was half blind. One of the red orbs was fronted by a milky cataract, and almost as if my stare had been sensed, his iron grey hair fell over it in the Sheikan style.  
  
"It's good to see you," Sheik reached down and embraced the child like a brother. [He still has a heart after all!] "Come; this is Catherine – the carrier." Catherine smiled and extended a hand, which Artemis took, and shook. "Catherine – Artemis."  
  
"Nice to meet you."  
  
"And you," the child nodded, smiling. "And you must be Al-"  
  
"Blaise," I cut in, glancing at Catherine who was luckily too busy studying the ceiling to notice. The child blinked, and then smiled again,  
  
"I see – well, it is nice to meet you, Blaise." He also shook my hand, and then looked up at Sheik with a coy smile and raised eyebrow. I had to stifle a laugh when Sheik glared at the boy. "Ahem – so, you want me to look after her for how long?"  
  
"Only a few hours; if you would, I'd be grateful."  
  
"Of course I will – I was just wondering how long to wait before I sent out Delia and Firen to look for you." Sheik laughed, and patted the boy on the back. "All right; Catherine, do you want to come with me? I can show you around my – uh – humble home whilst they're gone." Catherine accepted the hand he had stretched out, and they wandered off out of sight through an archway in the heavy stone wall.  
  
"Come on," Sheik grunted. "Let's go and check the Town."  
  
"Hang on just one second here!" I demanded. "Explain."  
  
"Explain what – there must be so much you don't know," he called airily as he began to wend his way back through the passages.  
  
"Explain that! The boy – he must be older than ten by a long shot, so why did he stop aging then? How do you know him? Why do you know him? I've missed fifty years Sheik, please....." I trailed off pleadingly, and he looked around at me.  
  
"He's like that due to a curse, I know him because he was my brother's lover. He's a good sorcerer, and friend. Enough detail for you to mull over there?" he turned away sharply and squared his shoulders, carrying on the march back to the stairs. I felt my heart skip a beat; there was so much I didn't know about him. So much that I'd like to know..... But I never would! Curses on it all.....  
  
"Sheik – I – I'm-"  
  
"Sorry, right?" I gulped, and nodded. "Well, good – you should practice that. You've got more than enough to be sorry about!" He made a sharp turn in the passageway, and there were the stairs – these he took three steps at a time, and threw the rug off violently. I followed as quickly as I dared on the slippery stone, and took the rug out of his hands before he could protest, and laid it back on the floor.  
  
"Our horses are back in the field – we'll use them to get back to Town," he decided, his voice sunk back into stony indifference. With that, he stomped out of the hut, and I stayed back, pretending to be straightening the rug, just so that I wouldn't have to spend so much time with him. But, there was only so long I could stay there, so finally I stood back up, and began walking back to the field where we had left all our things.

* * *

We rode hard, making a bee-line for the recently opened town drawbridge. Neither of us bothered to slow as we thundered over the wood and out onto the cobbles of the main street. People darted out of way with screams and curses, but still we rode on. It had been perhaps an hour's worth of riding already, and luckily, nothing seemed amiss in the town. We bought the horses to a sudden halt (that nearly threw me out of the saddle) before the Temple of Time's steps.  
  
"Be careful, I don't want you getting us killed," Sheik muttered as he pushed open the great doors, to show the remainders of the royal procession of the night before, which opened the festival. Apart from that, the holy building was quiet, and dim as the sun wasn't yet high enough to spill through the windows. Sheik took one side, shadowing between the great stone pillars, whereas I just boldly strolled down the central aisle.  
  
Consequently, I noticed what was wrong about the whole scene first. "Sheik," I called tremulously, withdrawing my sword and holding it ready.  
  
"Aye?" he called back disinterestedly, not looking up from where he was studying an open book of history which lay open on a small oak table near one of the great stone pillars. He then checked the alcoves for any hidden presences, before finally conceding to look up.  
  
"The Door of Time," I pointed to the great stone slab, and he looked up at it. It was open. By a small amount, yes, but open all the same. And that _wasn't_ possible. It just couldn't be. [But, if it's _him_, he wouldn't have much trouble with it, would he now?]  
  
"No....." Sheik breathed, and hurried out to join me in the central aisle, slipping his swords from their sheaths, and crossing them loosely about half a foot in front of his chest, ready to fight. "Go." He nodded forwards, and our feud temporarily forgotten, we stalked up the aisle towards the opened door. He stared around sharply, waiting poised to fend off an attack, and every shadow suddenly looked as though it could hide some lurking thing waiting to pounce.  
  
All the strips of ice-white tissue banners and confetti assaulted us coldly in the oppressive dimness, marking out the edges of the central path. I kept flicking my eyes along the pews, worrying that some creature could be waiting for us there. [Oh demons] I thought shakily, nerves rising to a ridiculous level than I would never have believed possible. Why hadn't my training made me better at coping with these things? Hadn't I trained hard enough?  
  
When Sheik nudged me in the side with an elbow, I jumped slightly, feeling my heart leap into my throat. I looked at him in a questioning way, and he nodded over to the ajar door; I saw a shadow flicker across, quickly followed by two more, and another one after that. Without any need for words, we both crouched down, and began to hurry towards to door, one of us at either side of it. I flattened myself against the very door itself, the stone cold at my back, and waited for Sheik to arrive on the other side of the gap.  
  
When he was at last there, he too leant against the wall, and felt at his waist for his Deku-nuts.....which of course were no longer there. 'Damn', he mouthed silently, and then looked up with an annoyed scowl. He then nodded his head towards to gap, pointing at me. I shook my head vigorously, and pointed back at him. [No way in all the fiery demons am I going in there first,] I thought darkly. He just shrugged, and pressed himself further back against the wall, tensing all off his perfect, beautiful [stop it] muscles, ready to spring.  
  
Then, he suddenly did, and cannoned through the thin gap, having to turn sideways to fit through properly. I tensed, and waited for the sounds of metal clashing against metal, but it never came; instead, a surprised yell sounded out, and, still fearing the worst, I rushed through myself, sword at the ready. It promptly fell out of my hands to clatter upon the white stone floor when I saw what he had seen.

* * *

* * *

_MWA HA HA HA! And I shall leave it there for now.....  
  
Man – tis difficult to write this! Their relationship is so awkward, and the moods are just going haywire – ah well, at least I can base the crazy mood swings on the stuff I know. Yay.....I think.....  
  
Sheik: You do?  
  
Soda: Ha – ha. Very funny [sarcasm drips from her words and leaves splatters on the carpet].  
  
Soda xxx  
  
RR_


	9. Returning to the world

**Thievery**  
  
_Disclaimer: [Coughs] Blast! The mountain lair turned out to actually be in a volcano, and as you can see [waves hand at molten mess behind her]. Miyamoto managed to escape, the crafty devil, so they still aren't mine.....dang!  
  
In the last chapter, we found out Sheik had a brother (who was gay – I had to get a gay Sheikah in somewhere!), and met his lover Artemis, cursed to be a child forevermore. We also left it on a whee bit of a cliffie hanger thing – though the more astute of you will have been able to figure out who the four creature/people/things are behind the Door of Time. Anyway, woo yay hoopla, and let's get on with the show! (There might be third person stuff again – might, not sure).  
  
:: :: = Ganondorf's thoughts, [] = Alexis'/Blaise' thoughts and italics = memories_

* * *

* * *

The beings whose shadows we had seen, blinked and stared at the weapon that had fallen from my grasp, before turning their attention to studying me. I had never truly known any of them all that well, but I still felt a great sense of happiness bearing down upon me as I looked back at each of them.  
  
Those wide, nut-brown shoulders, and the great spiked beard, which ran down a broad, bare chest. Deeply set under a heavy brow, those small, smiling, beetle-black eyes.  
  
The blue-green sylph-like figure, splaying battle fins menacingly, and yet somehow managing to maintain a complete elegance.  
  
The squat body swathed in robes of red and yellow, also with a beard, though this one was not quite so long, nor spiked.  
  
Lastly, the proud battle scarred body, wrapped in bands of light cotton and set off by a cascade of fiery hair.  
  
And yet, even as the clattering of my sword on the floor was still dying away, I could find a flaw in the scene. [There are two missing] I thought, frowning as I tried to remember them. There was something – green clothes like Link had had, but different to him.....smaller, with longer hair. And the other one missing was strong and wise, with harsh eyes and armour that shone like the sun. [Eyes like Sheik's.]  
  
All of this took only milli-seconds to register – names came flooding back, and relief overwhelmed me as I realised there was no imminent danger. "What.....how.....?" Sheik was stuttering, directing his questions to the sage of light, Rauru.  
  
"We were trying to stop _him_," Rauru explained; we didn't even need the emphasis on 'him' to know who. "But he managed to get away!" He slammed a clenched fist into his open palm, and I flinched at the loud sound it made.  
  
"C'mon old man, at least Impa and Saria managed to divert him a little," the Gerudo sage of spirit, whom I remembered at last as Nabooru, said sprightly.  
  
"Yes, but where to exactly?" the scaled woman asked, crossing her arms over her ample chest.  
  
"That, I'm afraid I can't answer," Nabooru conceded. "I just hope he lands as hard as we did," all four of them winced at once.  
  
"Sir, excuse me, but what is all this about diverting?" Sheik asked, having managed to get over his shock at last. (I, however, was still dealing with it).  
  
"Ah, well, since we couldn't prevent his escape from the realm; we have all become weak over the years..... We were trying to prevent him from landing quite so close to the other two Tri-force pieces – hopefully this will give us a little more time before we really have to start worrying." I looked around at the other three sages as Rauru said this, and I could see what he meant. All of them looked tired – not old as such, but just as though they had lived a long time..... if that makes sense?  
  
"How much exactly can you tell us about his power now?" Sheik asked, moving over to sit on the third highest step on the pedestal where the Master Sword had once sat. "And how much will you be able to help us?"  
  
"We're not sure....." Rauru admitted. "The second question is easy enough to answer – we can do nothing but advise you. Here, we have no power, and if we were to leave this sacred chamber," he snapped his fingers. "Gone."  
  
"So, you can't leave here?" I asked, trying to clarify exactly what it was he meant. (It had taken me a lot longer than I had thought to get over my shock).  
  
"In a word – yes," Darunia sighed, crossing his muscle-bound arms over his chest. "Impa and Saria, however, we don't know about."  
  
"Well, they are both immortal," Nabooru pointed out, fiddling with a loose strand of hair. "Theoretically, they could leave whichever temple they landed in and be able to remove around with no trouble."  
  
"Theoretically? I wish you sounded more sure," I said, sitting next to the Gerudo on the steps (consequently sitting as far away from Sheik as possible).  
  
"Well, we can't be really – it's not like this kind of thing happens every day," Rauru boomed, yet again glancing at Sheik, who had stood up, and was moving back to stand in the shadows. He stopped there, and stared blankly at the floor, eyes half lidded. Rauru walked over to me, and whispered, "What's wrong with him?"  
  
"I have no idea..... I'll just go and see." [Not that I really want to!] "Sheik?" He opened his eyes and looked at me sullenly. Rolling my remaining patience into a small ball at the pit of my stomach, I continued, lacing my voice with false care. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Wrong?"  
  
"Well, you have been standing looking comatose for a while, so I though I might ask....." I trailed off.  
  
"Rauru, are you sure that you don't know where the other two may have landed? Or where _he_ is?" Sheik called suddenly, looking over my shoulder and blatantly ignoring me. I stepped out of the way to let his past, and then took up his position in the shadows.  
  
"I've already said my boy – I have no idea!"  
  
"Damn," Sheik muttered. "We're going to have to do a reccy then."  
  
"How? It's not exactly easy getting to the old temples anymore," Ruto said. I jumped, having almost forgotten she was there. "Especially since you don't have half the equipment you used to have.....and no hero of time either."  
  
"What good would a hero of time be without the Master Sword, hmm? You seem to have forgotten it broke a long while ago now," Nabooru said scathingly.  
  
"He would do a lot better than a bunch of Gerudoes trying to fight their way out of a paper bag would do!" Ruto retorted darkly, and the Spirit sage growled, curling her fists for a fight.  
  
"Please, leave the catfights for the moment ladies," Darunia begged, holding Nabooru back easily. "Now, you two, what's your plan?" he looked at Sheik as he said this, and I snorted as Sheik tried to blather his way through. Then, he gave up, and reluctantly turned his head towards me in a gesture of helplessness.  
  
"It's not really much of a plan. All we know is, we're going to use a pure carrier, with power, wisdom and courage in equal balance to collect the Tri- Force pieces in, and then we'll get them to wish the darkness away for good. Seems simple enough, right?" I ended lightly, and held my arms out wide to indicate I would gladly take any advice offered.  
  
"As has often been said, 'It's the best plan we've got', so go for it." Ruto was still subdued, and I wondered how it was someone who had, from my experience of her, once been so vibrant and passionate, had become this deadpan creature before us. However, I couldn't dwell on it for long, as the echoing sound of the great doors all the way at the other end of the Temple being thrown open, reached our ears. The sages all disappeared in flashes of bright light, to become tiny shimmering orbs only slightly larger than a fairy, all of which flitted up to the stained glass window high above us.  
  
Being closest to the ajar Door of Time, I shuffled over, and crouched down, so that I was hidden by the shadows, to look through. To my horror, I could see a small procession of people filing in, all of whom were wearing _royal robes_, and chatting away amicably. "Fuck!" I scrambled back, and then leant against the inside of the stone door, and began to push with all my might to try and seal up as much of the gap as possible, so it would be less obvious. Hopefully, if I pushed hard enough, I'd be able to do it before they got close enough to notice.  
  
Sheik was still staring up at where the four orbs were hovering next to the window, and I wondered whether he'd flipped. "Sheik, help me!" I hissed, straining against the door, and not even managing to make it budge. He didn't move, and taking a quick glance around the door, I could clearly see the twin girls, Melissa and Anika, as well as the boy who looked so much like his grandfather, only hair making him different. "Please!" I hissed again, almost falling over my next attempt at trying to move the door.  
  
Finally, finally, he moved, and came over to push his shoulder against the stone. It was, however, as I had feared, too late. "Father, look! The door!" It was Melissa, and I heard pattering footsteps, as she no doubt ran up to look through the gap. Panicking, I ran from the door, and dove behind the pedestal at the centre, crouching down so that I lay flat on the floor, and hopefully was obscured from view. I heard Sheik's soft footsteps leave the chamber, and then heard Melissa gasp, as she no doubt saw him exit. "Sheik! What were you doing in there?"  
  
"Just conversing with the sages my lady," he answered politely. "My Lord – I need to speak with you," he then added quietly.  
  
"Sounds serious," a frail voice chuckled. "Well, speak away then, old friend."  
  
"No – I mean – I must speak to you in private."  
  
"Ah – so it is serious then."  
  
"I'm afraid so."  
  
"Hmmm..... Son, perhaps you could trek with the others up the tower? You know where the holy books are, don't you?"  
  
"Of course father, how could I forget?" another man's voice laughed heartily. "Come along everyone – will you be coming up later father?"  
  
"Maybe – it all depends whether the old legs want to work today. If you don't see me in half an hour, assume me asleep."  
  
"Oh, grandfather, you are an old loon," Melissa's voice stated, and then many sets of footsteps began to walk away, and chattering voices got quieter. After a few seconds, Sheik spoke again,  
  
"Old friend, come with me into the chamber," there was the sound of stone grating on the floor as Sheik widened the gap for Link (for I knew it had to be him) to get through. I pressed myself even closer to the ground, and prayed. "There are things I need to discuss with you quite urgently."  
  
"Ah – these visions you mean?" Link asked. "My poor children – grandchildren even; they too have been having nightmares recently." He let out a sigh. "It's Ganondorf, isn't it?"  
  
"Ever the astute one – yes Link, it is. And he arrived back to the world today."  
  
Link gasped. "No – surely not!"  
  
"Aye – the sages too. But, it's not all this that is important," I cringed, and wished that the ground would open up and swallow me whole. "There's another – from that time."  
  
"Another? But who?" Soft footsteps padded my way, and Sheik kicked me firmly.  
  
"Ow!" I whimpered, and rolled over to look up at him. 'You bastard!' I mouthed angrily, before clambering clumsily to my feet. Link stared at me, screwing up his eyes as he obviously tried to see past the hair and different eyes to make out who I had once been. I stared at him too, also finding it hard to see the young man I'd known. He still stood tall enough, straight backed and proud. But, he held a walking stick, which he leant his left side upon heavily, and his face was heavily lined with wrinkles, hair a thick halo of pure white, and instead of that loveable hat, a small circlet of gold rested on his brow.  
  
Sheik stood off the to the side, showing his remaining humanity by leaving Link and I semi-alone. "My Lord," I bowed, sweeping low to the floor. "An honour to see you again." To my surprise, the gesture was returned (in the form of a stiff, upper body bow), and a watery smile appeared on Link's face. The walking stick was forgotten, and he ambled forwards, embracing me with surprisingly strong arms for his age.  
  
"You're alive! By the Goddesses, it's a miracle! How have you been? Where have you been? What's it been, fifty years? More?" He stopped, and let go, stepping backwards and looking at me with an expression of tenderness I never would have thought to exist for me here. Not after the way.....the way it all turned out.  
  
"I – I..... I don't know which question to answer first really!" I stammered, smiling as well, and wiping the back of my hand across my eyes. "I'm well enough, and I've been in the angel world – what were the other questions?" He laughed softly, and then struck up a thoughtful pose, which induced me to laugh as well. "By all the demons, it's great to see you again!" I lowered my tone in an effort to stop Sheik from listening in. "But why aren't you angry at me? Not that I mind the fact you're not, but....."  
  
"Angry? Why would I be angry? You did what you had to back then – Xenia explained it all to us." Looking around quickly, I saw that Sheik had actually left the room completely. Good.  
  
"I only wish Sheik thought the same," I murmured, wrapping my arms around my torso tightly. Finally, the pent up emotions of the short time I'd been back in Hyrule got the better of me, and I plonked down in the steps, and put my head in my hands, allowing the tears to pour out thick and fast.  
  
"Oh dear," Link slowly lowered himself down as well, joints popping as he did so. "It's been a while since I last comforted a crying maiden, but here goes," he said, trying to inject some humour into the situation. I smiled, but wasn't able to stop. He threw a sympathetic arm around my shoulder, and, forgetting his age, his station, and the absolute inappropriateness of the situation, I buried my head in his shoulder.  
  
Finally, the tears ebbed away, and I was able to straighten up and wipe my face dry. "Sorry," I sniffed, smiling weakly. He just returned the smile and patted a sympathetic hand on my shoulder.  
  
"There's no need to apologise. What are friends for after all?"  
  
[I'm not quite sure anymore], I thought to myself, but just smiled at his wise face. "Enough of this – there are things we – I – need to explain to you. About the whole situation." [I may as well come clean about it – perhaps Loki was right. Link _could_ help us.]  
  
"Why is it things must always sounds so serious, I wonder?" he sighed heavily, and rose to his feet. "I'll just go and fetch Sheik."  
  
"No!" I exclaimed, and he stared at me in surprise. "Uh – what I mean is – I would find it easier to talk to you, if he were not – well, here with us." Link raised an eyebrow, but nonetheless he sat back down, and awaited the news I had to tell.  
  
Now that it came down to it, maybe I had been wrong – it did not seem half as hard as I had imagined it would be. Perhaps it was his acceptance of everything that made it so easy – his wise eyes and flickering grin, acknowledging all I told him of the adventures to come. Or perhaps it was just the plain fact that he did not seem to hold a grudge against me as Sheik did. Anyway, as soon as I had done explaining it all, Link just laughed lightly,  
  
"Oh, is _that_ all?" He stared at his hands, where I could see his Tri- Force piece glowing slightly. "And, it does explain why this has been playing up recently." He lifted the hand I had been staring at, and waved it. "Now shall I call Sheik back? I don't mean to be rude, but my old bones cannot abide sitting for too long."  
  
"Oh, of course!" I jumped up, and extended a hand to help him – he of course batted it away and got up proudly by himself, groaning as he stood. Together, we walked from the sanctuary that had once held all the power of Hyrule, but now held only the weak Sages and the memories of a past long ago. Sheik was standing at the far end of the Temple, and I felt glad that he would not have been able to hear the conversation I had had with Link. I couldn't stand the thought of him listening in on us.  
  
Link made his way towards the front pew, and leant heavily upon it, giving his stick arm a rest. "You go on – I'll be waiting here for my family." I took this as my dismissal, and bowed swiftly to him, before squaring my shoulders and going to join Sheik.

* * *

"Finally," Sheik sighed heavily, flexing his hands into and out of fists as I approached. "I thought you'd never get out of there – what were you trying to do? Wait until Link died of old age?" I was shocked by his callousness, and had to force my voice to remain quiet.  
  
"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer. Let's just go and get Catherine, and get her ready for the battles ahead, hmm?"  
  
"I doubt that child will ever be ready," he snorted, even as he for once followed me.  
  
"No one ever is Sheik – hadn't you realised? Or are all the Sheikah so perfect?" I know it was a flippant remark, but I was both shaken and annoyed, which are never a good combination. Throwing open the great doors of the Temple, I was assaulted by a bright shaft of sunlight, and the loud sounds of the market outside, which was now in full swing after our couple of hours or so in the Temple.  
  
As well as that, I found myself all of a sudden stumbling backwards, as a veritable army of black-cloaks began to swarm through the gates of the graveyard and make their way towards us. At their head was a middle-aged man carrying a large ivory staff, and swathed in the same black, though his robes were much more elaborate. Coupled with the sight of a woman much like Princess Zelda, I took him to be Aghanim, and her to be Thelia.  
  
I then swiftly took both myself and Sheik flying back down the central aisle of the Temple, where a startled looking Link waited. "What on earth are you two so wound up about?" he quizzed, as I sought out hiding places.  
  
"There's a bunch of those black-cloak fools coming along, with the Queen and that blasted sorcerer!" Sheik explained, finally goaded into co- operative action by the danger. "We must hide – Aghanim knows about Ganondorf, and he knows exactly whom will be trying to stop him – so he of course will be wanting to stop us."  
  
"Alas – if only I still had some power over that stubborn woman!" Link said angrily. "When she was little, she was a treasure – used to call me 'uncle Link'." He smiled at the memory, and then scowled again – it was amazing just how vibrant and with it he had managed to remain. "But now, well, she's a real chore, and people aren't liking her much."  
  
"You don't say," Sheik grinned, and Link copied the expression.  
  
"Psst!"  
  
"What the? Who said that?" Sheik looked around, and so did I. The noise seemed to have emanated from the Door of Time.  
  
"Me, Nabooru you dolt! Get over here, and we can hide you!" Well, _I_ didn't need telling twice! I'd seen enough cells in my lifetime not to relish going to another one! So, after bidding Link farewell for a second time, I rushed over to the great stone door, and found myself closely followed by Sheik; the sages managed to use what little power they had to slam the great door shut. And not too soon either – perhaps half a second after that, we could hear the sounds of dozens of shuffling feet enter the hall, and Link cry out,  
  
"Hello there, Thelia my dear! I was wondering when you'd grace us with your presence this wonderful day."  
  
"Yes, well, one did get rather held up along the way by some boorish oafs performing right in the centre of the street. Typical of the lower classes of course, to block thoroughfares like that, wouldn't you agree?" Thelia had a blustering, snobbish voice, which didn't suit her features at all. I could find a more suitable place for it in a modern-day world full of businesswomen, particularly, for some reason, lawyers. Not in a graceful, willowy queen of Hyrule!  
  
"Mmm," Link answered, slightly disapprovingly. "Can I just query as to why you need this huge entourage?"  
  
"To protect one of course! Dear Link, if you can't figure out things like that, one really does worry for you." Link mmmed again. "So, where are the rest of your family?"  
  
"Already up in the library with the holy books, but don't worry, they will not have started without you."  
  
"One should hope not; one shall leave one's guards here, but Aghanim shall come with one – now, come along Link, you must come too."  
  
"Not today, I don't think Thelia. My old bones just can't climb as they used to."  
  
"Ah, of course not, how silly of one. One will simply have to make up for you as well as oneself!" There was another 'mmm' from Link, and then two sets of footsteps plodded away. Having counted the times she had referred to herself as 'one', and added them together, I had come up with ten. Ten times in less than three minutes must have been some kind of record.....  
  
"Blast it," Sheik cursed quietly. "Now we're stuck here until the bloody woman comes down and takes away all these sorcerers!" I blinked, and then realised his point. Oh. Great. Thanks. Just what I always wanted. Hours on end trapped in a confined space with a Sheikah, with whom my relationship has been nothing short of terrible. How simply marvellous. "Artemis will be beginning to wonder where we are," Sheik mused aloud, walking away from where he had been leaning upon the door, and going to sit again on the pedestal at the centre of the chamber.  
  
"Don't be ridiculous – from what Impa told us of the lad, he's more patient than most. You'll have till at least sundown, and they'll be gone by then," Darunia assured Sheik, reappearing next to him on the steps. He too had his voice low, so that it would not carry to those on the other side of the door.  
  
"Of course, I know that," he breathed shakily. "Just so long as Firen and Delia aren't sent, I'll be happy." He looked up to see me watching, and promptly amended his speech by adding, "After-all, it wouldn't do for any of us remaining Sheikah to put ourselves into unwarranted danger." I smiled internally, and backed off to allow him some room. He may not have showed it to me, but he had a heart. He just obviously hadn't used it often whilst I had been away.....  
  
I shut my mind up before it could wander too far down that path, and went over to behind the pedestal again, leaning against one of the great marble columns that supported the roof above. Nabooru flickered into existence beside me, and smiled knowingly. "Been giving you the cold shoulder, has he?" she asked in a low voice. I just nodded, keeping an impassive face. "Well – it always seems to be the more volatile relationships that turn out good in the end." This time I smiled, and nudged her with my elbow. She just kept on smiling her knowing smile at me.  
  
"I wouldn't hold you breath," I muttered.  
  
"Wasn't planning on. I know things don't always go according to plan after all. As that very Sheikah showed. He was determined to hate you – he managed it for the first three years after you went, and then Malon went and gave him that portrait of you three." I raised an eyebrow so that she may continue – she leant to whisper in my ear so we wouldn't be overheard. "Since then, he's been having the usual mood-swings of his people – love/hate, hate/love – but I have to say, mostly love and tears."  
  
"Rubbish!" I exclaimed in a low voice that still carried to the two on the other side of the pedestal who looked around at us. I just looked away embarrassed.  
  
"Hey, I'm not saying anything's definite. Fifty years does change an awful lot. But, don't give up hope, hey kid?"  
  
[Don't give up hope. It's a nice idea, but not for me.]

* * *

* * *

At long last, those bloody black-cloaks left with their queen, and Sheik and I were released from our imprisonment. I had a good mind to either whack him upside the head for being a complete bastard ever since I'd arrived (goaded into the idea by Ruto), or ravish him then and there in the central aisle (Nabooru's idea – she said it would be amusing). Funny – I'd always thought the advice would be the other way around for each of the women. Fifty years really did change people!  
  
I refrained from hitting him, and also from the nymphomaniac-al idea of ravishing the man, favouring to just get on with the mission. [Mind you.....it might be nice, just so I could get him to shut up for once.....] I smirked at the idea, worried about my slightly depraved mind, and exited the Temple, this time bathed in late afternoon sun. Our horses were still waiting outside, and I was elated that they hadn't been stolen, or run off.  
  
Climbing onto Nostawen's back, I wheeled her about and set off, again taking the lead. I was fed up of always being at the back of the group, so took this chance to feel important.....and get completely lost. [Bugger it!] Then, looking around, I realised what had disoriented me – of course, this was the right way.....it was just covered in a load of streamers – there was the gate in the distance. [Thank demons for small mercies.] I trotted to the drawbridge, closely followed by Sheik on his horse, and went over the wood and out into the field beyond.  
  
Here, I slowed, and allowed Sheik to take the lead. "Finally – staring at the back-end of your horse was beginning to annoy me," he called as he rode past, picking up the speed.  
  
"Well, staring at your back-end doesn't give me much pleasure either!" I called with a smirk, though I'm not sure whether he heard me or not against the force of the wind due to our speed. I like to think he did, just so I can imagine a shocked look on his face. It would all be incredibly amusing (at least in my mind). [I'm having as many mood swings as he does!] I realised. [Ah well, it makes a change to be feeling happy about something!] "Whee!" I grinned quietly to myself as Nostawen and I flew over a low fence, and then "Oof!" as we landed again. I never did get used to the landing part.  
  
The sun was getting lower in the sky pretty quickly, and I began to get nervous, in case Sheik's friend really did send out a search for us. If they missed us in the gloom, then they'd go into town, and perhaps fall into trouble. It was now understandable why he was going so fast, in order to save them the bother.

* * *

"Sheik!" A woman's voice ripped through the darkening evening just as we began to make our way down the road towards the dilapidated old cottage we'd left Catherine in. "Sheik! Over here you ponce, and bring the bird with you!" I felt outraged at being called a 'bird', but Sheik being called a ponce made up for it. Sheik reeled off of the road, and I followed, Nostawen gracefully picking her way over the root-ridden ground.  
  
"Thank the Goddesses, we thought you'd gone and gotten yourself eaten by a Wolfos or something," the woman spoke again, and I guessed her to be Delia. This was confirmed when Sheik answered her back.  
  
"What kind of amateur do you think I am?" he called, jumping off of his horse and pushing his way past a huge tangle of brambles in order to get to wherever the woman was.  
  
"Well, I don't know about you being an amateur, but you sure don't use your brains as much as you could, you great idiot!" I pushed my way through the last bramble fronds, swearing out loud as a particularly sharp barb cut a deep gash in my arm. "Ah, and this is the other girl, right?" The man looked at me, and smiled a lop-sided grin. I chose to be flattered rather than offended, since I wasn't getting all the attention I needed at that precise moment.  
  
"What am I being called an idiot for, may I ask, oh supposedly wise Firen?"  
  
"For Goddesses' sake lad, take a look at what's right at your feet!" I looked down, and gasped in synchronisation with him. Lying there on the ground was Catherine, a large gash running across her forehead, and bruises all over the skin we could see.  
  
"'s just lucky we were in at the time, or the bastards would have managed to take the lass too!"  
  
"Too?" Sheik echoed, and I could almost hear it as his heart sank. I put out an arm to comfort him, and then thought better of it. He wouldn't want that.....  
  
"Aye," the woman spat, "they managed to get Artemis – though, no doubt the clever boy will give them the slip and be back before sun-up."  
  
"Who are 'they'?" I asked, finally finding a spot to enter the conversation.  
  
"The black-cloaks, who else?" Firen exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Trust me, they only won through sheer numbers – those people have barely enough power to light a candle, let alone take on a Sheikah. But put a whole lot of them together, and they can throw some pretty nasty spells at you." He pulled up the sleeve of his bodysuit (which, unlike Sheik's and Delia's, was dark brown), to show a vicious scar on his forearm.  
  
"Ouch....."  
  
"Exactly – but, our Artemis is more than a match for the buggers, isn't he Sheik?"  
  
"Sheik?"  
  
But he was gone. There was a struggle between horror, delight, and the practical side, in the fact that it would be a lot easier to do this mission with two experienced warriors, rather than one. Practicality won, but only just. I looked down at Catherine, and knew that she'd be OK – it was just a concussion as far as I could see. The black-cloaks wouldn't have wanted to harm the goods after all – Aghanim would probably delight in being able to draw out her death for as long as he could. Well, at least, if what I knew of super-villains was correct, he would.  
  
[And I've met my fair share of villains in my time.]  
  
"Oi, you!" Firen stalked over. "What's your name?"  
  
"Blaise," I answered distractedly as I removed my cloak and dropped it onto Catherine with the other one already covering her. He gasped.  
  
"_The_ Blaise?"  
  
"Yeah, _the_ Blaise, or whatever. Was there the first rising, am back again. For some more info, let's see – the guy who just wandered off hates me, I'm very tired and very angry, and we need to go find him. Sound like a plan?" He seemed taken aback, and then he nodded.  
  
"Eesh – are you sure you don't have some Gerudo blood in you or something?" Delia asked. "Because you do sound rather touchy."  
  
"And you must have a death wish – speaking honestly's good, but you should learn when to hold your tongue. It seems to be a trait of your people to annoy other races."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
"Mmmhmm!"  
  
"Man, you two are spectacular," Firen mused aloud, and then jumped when he realised he had said it aloud. "I mean – when your angry that is....." I glared at him, and then broke out into laughter.  
  
"Listen to me – sorry, I've known you five minutes and already you hate me. Let's start again."  
  
"Good idea," Delia stuck out her hand, and I shook it. "Delia, of the house of Blizzard."  
  
"Blaise.....from the – I'm not sure....." Firen snorted, and he too held out his hand. I took it, and he then suavely bought it to his lips and kissed the back of it. Delia smacked him upside the head, whilst I just snorted.  
  
"I'm Firen, no house, no fancy extras," he said blearily, rubbing his head.  
  
"Now that that's over, let's go find that bloody, Hylian loving ponce, shall we?" Delia said.  
  
"Someone needs to look after the kid," Firen pointed out.  
  
"Well, I'm no babysitter!" Delia countered.  
  
"Neither am I." They looked at me.  
  
"No way. You two can stay here and protect her – I'll go after ponce-boy." This gained a smirk from the both of them, and they reluctantly agreed. So, with that, I plunged back out onto the road, and using my intuition, made my way towards the cottage; maybe Sheik would go there to check for clues or something. [Suddenly, I'm beginning to call him ponce-boy in my mind. Demons, it feels good to finally have a degrading enough name for him.]

* * *

The cottage door was open; I say open. It was more slashed apart into tiny splinters and scattered about the floor, rather than open. However, small details needn't matter. The rug over the trapdoor was thrown back, and the door itself was still open, the flap sticking vertically into the air. I carefully walked down the steps into the pitch black, and tried to remember where we had turned and what passages we had taken when last here.  
  
I didn't need to bother though – the path of destruction, now shown by the torches at regular intervals on the walls, lead me straight to the main body of the catacombs. And, lo and behold, there stood Sheik, high above on a wooden platform I hadn't noticed before, which made up a sort of second floor to the place. In his hands, he held a lyre. One that I remembered from oh so long ago – that time upon Death Mountain.....  
  
_An old tune came back to me from my childhood, and I sang it softly.  
  
I paused to try and remember the next line, lifting my head and opening my eyes. To my shock, Sheik was sitting on the rocks across from me, listening intently. My cheeks surely went as scarlet as the tunic I wore. He seemed to realise that I had noticed him. "Goddesses, I'm sorry - I just heard you singing and had to see what it was. I've never heard it heard it before."  
  
"It's just something from when I was growing up," I stuttered, my cheeks burning even darker if it were possible. "It's all right, I'll stop so you don't have to hear me butcher it."  
  
"Hey, no - it was good! Could you - would you - finish it? I'd like to try and pick up the tune at least - I always like to add to my repertoire." I looked at him as though he was crazy, shrugged, and tried to remember where I had gotten. After a few seconds, the words came flooding back, and I carried on. Sheik sat on the rocks with his lyre, and plucked out a few notes as I carried on._   
  
This flashed by in an instant, and I was shocked when he raised the lyre above his head, and threw it against the hard stonewall of the place, where it shattered. "Of – all – the – people – they – could – have – taken – why – did – they – take – him?!" he yelled, pausing between each word to punch his fist _very_ hard against the wall that had so recently become the death of the lyre. I backed away, slightly afraid of the outburst, and afraid of what I might do if I stayed any longer. The urge to comfort someone in need would soon override common sense if it went on.  
  
Sheik continued to throw things about, and then dropped down on both knees to the wooden floor, hands clasped together in front of him. "Goddesses, I swear, if you bring him back safe and well, I'll do anything.....anything at all. Just don't let him die. Not him – not that last thing dear to me." He opened his eyes, from which great tears were falling, and looked up to the roof of the catacombs desperately.  
  
"Please. Don't let him die."  
  
I turned around and fled, silent as a shadow. I was going to go and find Artemis.

* * *

* * *

_OOOH! Crying-ness and everything. Even the hint of sexual undertones - well, all right, more than a hint. A down right mention of the word 'ravish'/'ravishing' more than once. I never was one for subtlety.  
  
Want to say a thank you to ignorantly grinning and Kads (can I still call you that? Or have I been stricken from the nickname user list due to my horrific updating-ness?) Well, anyway, glad to know you people still like my stuff, and that I brightened up your evening. [Sniff] It's what I'm really doing this all for! [Dramatic crying of joy ensues.]  
  
Soda – RR, even though I know I don't deserve it!  
  
PS: If anything in the storyline isn't congruent, it will be due to the huge gap between posting the first five chapters, and all the chapters after them. I think it was about three months – maybe more. Sorry.....Hehehe  
  
PPS: Sheik, come back here – I've still got some ravishing to do!  
  
Sheik: O.o help me.....somebody! _


	10. Rescues, Returns and Realisations

**Thievery**  
  
_Disclaimer: [Shepherds in a lot of plot bunnies carrying briefcases]. We plot bunnies declare that Soda is not affiliated with Nintendo in any way, so is merely borrowing the characters to follow our whimsical story guidance.  
  
Last chapter, I finally got some action in (at last!) So, our good old Alexis/Blaise friend is now trooping off in order to find Artemis and save Sheik's (dwindling) sanity.  
  
Apologies for yet another huge gap in between updates. But.....well, you know how it is when you haven't any ideas for what to write, right? Hopefully, I haven't gone too off the rails of this story. If it seems like it doesn't flow well, tell me, and I'll try to remedy the matter!  
  
:: :: = Ganondorf's thoughts, [] = Alexis'/Blaise' thoughts and italics = memories_

* * *

* * *

I had no idea how long it had been since the black-cloaks had attacked the catacombs and taken Artemis, so therefore didn't know if the trail I was following was hot or cold. To be honest, I was just glad I had been able to find a trail to follow at all. The black-cloaks were (luckily for me) terrible at covering their tracks. And, another consolation was that fact that the attack couldn't have been anything over six hours ago, so they couldn't be too far.  
  
[That's if they didn't use magic of course, stupid!] The more logical half of my brain chimed away. I often wondered whether I might be a little crazy, the way I seemed to have two minds in one. [Yeah, well, you can't claim to have ever been quite sane, can you?] I shrugged the voice off, and looked down at a heavy set of footprints in the mud of ground. Luckily, it was wet, so the tracks showed up well.  
  
These tracks I followed, hand hovering over the hilt of my sword, and one eye looking out for any oncoming attacks. The trail followed the road for perhaps three hundred yards, and then dove back into the woods. I now had to use one hand to clear away the branches of trees that hung over the dodgy pathway through the vegetation. The call of a bird close-to made me jump, and one of the branches thrummed back to hit me squarely on the nose. [Ow! Demons!] I rubbed the sore spot tenderly, before deciding to duck under the branch in order to continue.  
  
Ten minutes of this began to frustrate me – it seemed I was getting nowhere, for I couldn't see nor hear the black-cloaks, and I feared they were now too far away for my trek to be of any use at all. As the plant life began to thicken all around me, I knew I was approaching the old heart of this tiny forest, and had to pick my way over the rotting carcasses of long dead trees, as well as pushing the new bursts of life from my way. There came a point when I half drew my sword, having the idea to cut my way through, and then decided against it. If merely pushing these branches had exerted me, then what good would slashing away like a lunatic do?  
  
After all, if I did manage to find the black-cloaks, I would need to be able to fight them, wouldn't I? What good is a weary warrior in the midst of battle? [Mind you, Vyxennia was the place of many – almost all in fact – battles in which I was way over the limit of normal waking hours.] That was due to the obscenely long nights, as well as the huge amount of vampires, werewolves and other sentient daemons gathered in the place.  
  
I stumbled into a clearing, and was drawn out of the reverie. [Funny, I seem to have a habit of them.....] The clearing itself was empty, so I didn't know exactly why my sword was in my hand, or my shield suddenly on my arm, and my battle-senses ready. Truly, there was nothing!  
  
It dawned on me. Nothing.....  
  
I looked down, to find the footsteps (all many sets of them) stop abruptly in the very centre of the clearing. Lying in the slightly charred grass were the carcasses of dozens and dozens of Deku-Nuts, used and discarded. I could only hazard a guess about where they had gone, and my guess would be; back to the castle, and their sorcerer master. Perhaps Aghanim meant to use Artemis as bait to lure Sheik, and persuade him to hand Catherine over.  
  
There was a sense of relief as I found myself in the certain knowledge he wouldn't do that. Not straight away anyway – nor without a plan. [But what's my plan about this?] I stopped before the burnt out Deku-nut shells, and saw something glowing golden in the midst of them. Hardly believing my luck, I bent down, and retrieved a Deku-nut that was still intact. Having a sudden impulsive, and probably, very stupid idea, I picked up one of the used ones, and held it in my sword hand.  
  
In the other hand, (the arm leading to it supporting my shield), I held the transporting device that still held magic. Hoping that by some sheer luck and twist of magics, I would end up where the abductors had gone, I threw (well, dropped) the Deku-nut onto the ground. I squinted against the flash, and felt myself pulled away from the world, and then dropped again harshly.

* * *

Just before I had landed, there had been soft chanting of both male and female voices going on far off, and then, closer to, the sound of snoring. When I did land, the snoring stopped, and was replaced by a man heavily cursing, and rising from a chair to pull some sort of rope. Without really thinking about it, I slashed my sword out, and he crumpled to the floor, sliced so deep that I knew he wouldn't rise again. Strangely, it didn't bother me. I didn't usually like to kill the more humanoid forms of evil, but so many years in my job must have steeled me, because I next searched the man for any means of key, weapon, or clue to where Artemis may be.  
  
I found a key, a pouch of Deku-nuts (which would be _very_ handy later on, I was sure), and a flask of pungent whisky. I pocketed the key and pouch, and after a milli-second's silent debate with my conscience, also took the flask. [After all, he won't be needing it, will he?] I reasoned. Standing up from my search of the body, I took a proper look around the place. I'd never been in the new castle, so I couldn't tell if that was where I was or not. Wherever this place was, judging by the water seeping in through the walls, it was underground. And, it wasn't a wine cellar, nice underground place.  
  
Oh no – that chanting in the distance was working to weave a spell, that much I knew. Magic hung heavy in the air, clinging to me, and seeping into me, crawling through the pores of my skin, and seeming to set my very soul aflame. It was a struggle to prevent my Angel form from erupting from behind my disguise. Luckily, I managed – the room in which I stood was small as it was, and with wings, it would be decidedly cramped.  
  
However, back to the task at hand. I had to find Artemis. [I wonder if this magic is theirs or borrowed.....it doesn't feel black, or white.....maybe they channelled it somehow.] I shook my head. I was _always_ like this around magic! Having not had it for those seven or so years of my life, it now acted as a sort of drug to me; if I had some, I always wanted more and more of it. [I swear, I've never felt any magic like this before – damn, must keep track!] I shook my head again, more vigorously this time, and crept my way to the door of the room, treading as silently as I could.  
  
The door lay slightly open already, and I shifted so that I could look through the crack of it. There was a corridor beyond, which was wide and expansive in comparison to the room in which I stood, and also completely empty. Kicking the body (around which a disparagingly large pool of blood was forming) out of the way, I opened the door further, and ventured to poke my head out. No shouts sounded, and no weapons or spells came whizzing towards my head, so I dared to look around. The corridor was sort of an 'L' shape, and I was in the corner of the L.  
  
To the right, there was a softly lit tunnel, at the end of which I could see the glow of some much brighter lights. Now that I was out of that blasted room, the chanting was a lot louder, and a lot harsher. It was also more complex than I had taken it for, more than one set of spell words being spoken at a time, so that they all wove in and around one another like a tapestry of sorts.....  
  
Straight ahead was a dank, cold corridor, with no light, other than that which could make its way around the corner of the 'L' – which was little. However, iron grey hair and a small stature do stand out, even in the dark, and I dropped down to the floor, doing a controlled tumble across, and came up against the wall of the inside of the 'L' corner, so that if anyone came down the right corridor, I would see their shadow before they even knew I was here.  
  
Artemis looked up, blinking his eyes, his one good one glazed over so that I worried they may have blinded him! However, he blinked, and the glaze went away so that he looked at me with perfect comprehension. "Ah – would you be my rescue?" he whispered softly, knowing full well what danger we were both in.  
  
"That I would – here, I believe this is the key for your cell." I handed it to him through the bars, and he fumbled for the keyhole, whilst I kept a watch on the state of the shadows on the floor. There was a click as he slid it into place, and then a grating sound as he turned it. However, no joy.  
  
"It won't open."  
  
"Damn....." I went to option 'B', and looked around for something I could pick the lock with. I had nothing – never in my life had I worn a hairpin. "Do you have anything I could pick a lock with?"  
  
"No – they took all that away when they threw me in here."  
  
"How long have you been here?"  
  
"About two hours or so. There was some talk about using me as a sacrifice," he looked about as worried as Sheikah can look, and then his face went back into the normal repose of neutrality. "However, I doubt they would – I would be perfect material for blackmailing Sheik with.....stupid man....."  
  
I sighed quietly, and checked my person again – and almost hit myself for my asinine stupidity. "Here," I pulled out a Deku-nut and gave it to him. He managed a ghost of a grin, and stood up from where he had been sitting on the damp, cold floor. "Back to the cottage?" He nodded, and threw his Deku-nut – the explosion took him away out of the cell, and I reached back into the pouch to get another of the nuts for myself. Only to find it not there.  
  
"Got your bag missy miss!" a snaggle-toothed old witch of a woman laughed, ever so loudly. "Bet you didn't expect that, did you, missy miss?" I snarled, and made a grab for it, but this had obviously been her plan, because she pulled the pouch away, and her cell-mate (a similarly ragged looking man of un-guessable age – anywhere between eighteen and fifty) grabbed my arm. He then proceeded to pull it as hard as he could, dragging me closer to the bars as well. I knew that they meant to take all my other things this way as well, and possibly to alert the black-cloaks as they did so. I did not wish this to happen, so merely twisted my hand in such a way that the man had to let go, or have his arm broken.  
  
He didn't let go in time, and I heard a sickening crunch – the woman leant forward, forgetting the pouch in her hand, to try and get me back for injuring her partner in crime. I just grabbed the bag, and rapped her on the knuckles with the flat of my sword (which was still drawn, though my shield I had put away for manoeuvrability). She shrieked loudly, and the chanting down the right hall faltered, only to be commanded back into action.  
  
Shadows on the floor told me I had to get going, as did the thundering footsteps of the guards who were coming to get me. I withdrew a Deku-nut, and after a tiny deliberation, threw it along with Artemis' one into his now empty cell. The explosion whisked me away, and the old woman shrieked even louder, so that it hurt my ears. She had the last laugh all right on that one..... During the weird time between disappearing and appearing, I managed to place my hands over my ears in pain, and landed thus, almost on top of poor Artemis and Sheik, who had been tenderly hugging.  
  
I rolled over, and apologised, before running off again. Sheik, of course, called after me, and I just called back, "Don't worry – just getting the kid!" And that's just what I did. I didn't have to run more than a dozen yards before seeing Firen and Delia walking with Catherine down the road, their weapons raised. Firen raised an eyebrow at me, and I looked down to see that for the most part, my tunic was soaked.  
  
Then, Delia and Firen looked past me to where Artemis stood with Sheik, and their eyes lit up. [So nice to see that the Sheikah do _actually_ have emotional moments] I thought, wondering at the randomnisity of my mind. Then knowing randomnisity wasn't a word. [Shut up!] Catherine was the only one who stopped to speak to me.  
  
"You're soaking! What happened?"  
  
"Just a jail break-out," I smiled, turning back towards the cottage. "Nothing major. You all right?"  
  
"After being knocked unconscious and almost taken hostage? Oh yeah, I'm fine," she retorted darkly, and then added in a shocked voice, "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so rude – oh dear – I-"  
  
"No need to apologise – I know what it's like. It was a dumb thing to ask." We both settled into a slightly uncomfortable silence, and waited for the four Sheikah to once again acknowledge our very existence.  
  
Finally, after much quick speech in their own language (which I only knew the barest essentials of.....we hadn't thought it necessary for me to learn all the tongues of Hyrule this time), Firen and Delia left, and Artemis ascended the steps that led up to the collapsed front door of the cottage. Sheik looked at him as he did, and then raised a hand in farewell, as Artemis went inside, and back down into the ground.  
  
Then, as soon as the man-child was out of sight, Sheik turned back to Catherine and I, a surprised look on his face. He beckoned me over, and Catherine started to come too – I just held out an arm and shook my head at her. She frowned, and stayed put, sitting down by the side of the road to wait. [Poor child.....there are so many mysteries she'll never solve – so many things she won't ever know.....] I had no idea where that thought came from, and blanked it, focusing upon whatever insult Sheik wanted to throw at me. [Though he doesn't look ready to insult you, does he?]  
  
"Artemis told me what you did," he said simply.  
  
"Aye?"  
  
"Aye..... And, well, as well as wanting to tell you I think you're mad, I wanted to say..... Wanted to say thank you." He nodded his head to me in gratitude.  
  
"Uh – no problem," I replied, absently trying to wring out my tunic.  
  
"Yes – well – thank you again," he repeated jerkily, not seeming to know where the conversation was supposed to go after this.  
  
"Perhaps we should get going – to somewhere safer, I mean."  
  
"Oh yes..... Kakariko we decided on, wasn't it?"  
  
"Aye, I think that was it." I was just about to turn around and head for where we had – urm – 'parked' the horses – when a question entered my mind. "What about Artemis? He won't be safe here....."  
  
"Art..... oh, he's just gone to get a few of his belongings before heading off towards one of the old Sheikah strongholds."  
  
"Oh, right." I nodded, and didn't ask him about one of his missing 'belongings'. I didn't want him to know what I had seen of him.....  
  
"Ow!" we span around as one to face Catherine, our weapons drawn. I was puzzled to see only her there, still sitting on the grass, but with her index finger in her mouth, a look of pain over her face.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Something stung me – it was a bee I think."  
  
"A bee?"  
  
"Yes, a bee! And it damn well hurt!"  
  
"I'm sure it did, but I think we've more important things than bee stings to think about right now," Sheik interjected. "Let's get back to the horses..... I hope the beasts haven't run off."

* * *

Luckily for us, when we returned to the clearing in which we had first met with Delia and Firen, we found that the horses were still there, meandering about and cropping the lush grass at the base of the young trees. I swung up onto Nostawen, and Sheik went onto his own charger – however, we had neglected the fact that we had left the smaller charger which Catherine was to ride back at our camp. I had a nasty feeling that we shouldn't go back there, and it seemed that Sheik sensed something to.  
  
"But – we have to go back and get _my_ horse!" Catherine protested as Sheik hopped down off of his own and grabbed her roughly around the waist. He then carried her back to his horse, and chucked her over the saddle. "Ow! This isn't very comfortable!" she yelled, the sound muffled by the horse's flank. After a brief struggle, she managed to sit up straight, and then moved back so that Sheik could get up in front of her.  
  
"There will be some of them coming back soon, won't there?" I called over to Sheik, who was untangling the reins of his steed.  
  
"That there will – Aghanim will not give up so easily..... We must fly, before they do return."  
  
"Can't we just stay and fight?" Catherine said. "After all, I'm sure you two could take down some of those black-cloaks!"  
  
"Have you ever seen the marks spells can leave on people?" Sheik asked over his shoulder.  
  
"I – no.....but, surely, if you could just-"  
  
"Silence! Unless you want me to tip you off this horse and leave you here, don't say another word about things you don't understand!" Catherine cowered in the saddle behind Sheik, no doubt glad that she couldn't see his eyes at that precise moment. Then, without much warning, he snapped the reins, and dug his heels into his horse's sides. The beast took off, and Catherine had to fling her arms around Sheik suddenly to prevent herself falling off.  
  
I followed suit, watching with worry as we continued onwards over the great field towards Kakariko. At this pace, it wouldn't take us much more than an hour to get there from where we were. And perhaps, just perhaps, it would be at the Shadow Temple that we would find Impa and Saria. Memories of the Shadow Temple went through me – how the dead there had shut me out, and not allowed me to enter as an adult..... I shivered slightly in the saddle as their warning came back to me.  
  
_- Get what you came for and leave. Never return murderer.  
  
You have what you need - do not return, on pain of death. -_   
  
Would their warnings still apply to me now that David had returned to the world? Could even the dead themselves find it possible to forgive me? Whatever they thought of me, I would soon be finding out if I judged Sheik's reasons for heading to Kakariko so soon correctly.....

* * *

* * *

::I'd quite forgotten just how charming being able to breathe really is!:: Ganondorf thought to himself as he wandered around the Temple in which he had landed. He knew this place well – in fact, very well – from his childhood, so long ago now. Right now, he was within the inner sanctum, wiping sand away from the magical carvings at the bottom of a huge statue. It showed a Gerudo warrior woman staring blankly ahead, seeming to 'guard' over the room.  
  
::Now, to see if I can find my way out of this place.:: He stood up, and continued in his slow journey out of the great building. He had already been there almost an entire day, just bathing in the glow of the past, and admiring how the Tri-Force of Power glowed so brightly on the back of his hand. He chuckled out loud as he waved his fist, and a misty picture appeared before him, of three people upon two horses. Two of those people he wanted dead.....and the other..... ::The other one I merely _want_. After all, one must check that _everything_ is still in working order.:: Another chuckle tipped out of his mouth, and he began to ascend a great staircase, which led to an ornately carved archway.  
  
Stepping through the archway, he found himself assaulted by bolts of both red and blue magic. He held up his hand and deflected them easily. "The students of the line of Koume and Kotake I believe?" he called into the gloom of the room before him, and the torches all about lit up with blue and red flames alternately. His eyes alighted on two Gerudo women, who had both dropped full length to the floor upon seeing him. One wore red, and the other blue, so it was easy to distinguish what magic belonged to whom. "Arise," he barked, enjoying this sudden return to having power over people.  
  
"My lord, we have waited so long!" the red.  
  
"So long have we waited, for you to return to us!" the blue.  
  
"Yes, yes, all that is very well....." he waved a hand carelessly. "Take me to the exit of this dratted place – it has been so long since I was last here."  
  
"Yes, of course!"  
  
"At once your lordship!"  
  
It didn't matter which one said what to him.....they were both ugly, as was the way with Koume and Kotake's selected daughters. Poor creatures – they had probably been attractive once, he supposed. He followed them through the twists and turns of the Temple, slowly remembering things as they passed wall hangings and carved stone lettering. And, as he slowly remembered, anger built up within him. ::It was those witches who held me back for so long – they advised against taking Hyrule at all for the first few months – I could have had the princess killed at the ports had I not listened to them!::  
  
By the time the two sorceresses had led him to the entrance hall of the temple, his fury was so great that when they opened the doors for him, and bowed for him to exit, he merely rose his all-powerful hand, and turned them into stone with a mere thought. ::And that,:: he smirked, ::is why you never, _ever_, mess around with power.:: Then, he walked past the two, in his mind, grotesque statutes, out into the desert beyond. He had no steed, but that didn't bother him. He could not magic his way through, but what damage could it do him? Any creature foolish enough to attack him would find itself in ashes, and any storm would be blocked by a mere shield charm.  
  
"And I may as well let them believe they have a chance this time," he called to the wind as he stepped out into the dusk.

* * *

* * *

We reached Kakariko just as the lamps outside the gate were being lit. "General sir!" one of the guards at the gate waved a hand, and Sheik returned the gesture, managing a strained smile. "Good to see you again sir," the guard bowed, and then pulled his side of the gate closed behind us. "I'd like to speak to you soon if I may?"  
  
"What about my good man?"  
  
"There's been an increase in the number of monsters on the field recently, and we have to close the gate earlier these past months."  
  
"Ah – of course – I shall meet you for a briefing in Impa's house in the morning. Eight sharp."  
  
"Yes sir!" the man saluted, and then ran to get the wooden bar to fix the gate with along with his partner guard.  
  
"Bloody Ganondorf," Sheik growled. "Not that it's enough he tries to kill us all, he brings back the monsters even without trying....." He turned towards the house of Impa, which lay upon the slopes at the very foot of Death Mountain Valley. The ground sloped upwards towards the graveyard, and then it fell away steeply after a hundred yards of forest into a deep gorge. At least, that was what my map-work on the way to Hyrule had told me.  
  
Sheik stopped in front of the door to Impa's house, which also held a pair of guards, who bowed and let the three of us in. Once inside, Sheik lit the wood in the fireplace with a Deku-nut, just as he had at his own house. "I'm not sure what kind of state this place is in," he told the both of us as he began to make his way up the stairs to the first floor. "I haven't been here for decades now.....not since my brother....." he stopped abruptly, obviously feeling he had said too much, and waited for us at the top of the stairs. "Just go along this corridor, and you should find bedrooms enough for you to have one each to sleep in. I'm going to go and see whether I can get us anything to eat from one of the shops before they close for the night."  
  
He grabbed me as I walked past – Catherine carried on to find herself a room. "I'm trusting you now.....don't let me down woman." I broke away from his grasp.  
  
"I'm not going anywhere – I'm too curious now." He raised an eyebrow and was about to ask what about, when Catherine's voice squealed,  
  
"Running hot water! Score!" He raised his eyes to the heavens and shook his head.  
  
"I'll be back in about half an hour."  
  
"Is it all right if I use the hot water?" Catherine leant out of what was evidently the bathroom.  
  
"As much as you like – the water comes directly from hot springs halfway up Death Mountain." Sheik then turned and hurried down the steps, and out of the front door. Fleeing from me, not just to get the food. I saw the fear in his eyes for that split second when he promised his trust.  
  
[I won't let you down. If only because I need your help.....] I'd never say that to his face of course.....  
  
I walked away from the stairs, and opened doors at random (being careful not to open the door to the bathroom, since Catherine was in there.) I came across a sewing room, complete with ancient spinning wheel and pedal- powered sewing machine. Then there was a walk-in-wardrobe, full to the brim with Sheikan clothing of all shapes and sizes, as well as equipment. Throwing disks sparkled in the sunset on the windowsill, beautifully deadly.  
  
The next door I tried already had Catherine's sword and shield dumped within it. The room was gorgeous, almost beyond words. The carpet was deep and sensuous looking, a profound wine-red. The rest was again, all in the Sheikah colours, and daubed with the eye of truth. A four-poster bed stood against one wall, draped with velvet around the struts, and with silken curtains, all out of indigo fabric. Strangely, instead of looking the same as Sheik's house, it looked like a completely new style. No two Sheikah ever have the same appearance after all..... Here, the eye of truth was always in silver. [Perhaps Impa's colour?] I didn't know.  
  
I retreated from that room, and moved on to the last door, at the very end of this side of the corridor – there was still the other half of the house yet to explore up here. Throwing the door open, I was almost blinded by the full assault of the sunset, which came in through the floor to ceiling windows. This room was long and narrow, and the walls were bare, apart from two pictures on the wall. One, was of course, the customary eye of truth. The other one was a family portrait [hmm, I never knew Impa had a family.....] My eyes widened as I studied it more closely. I had to remove it from where it hung on the wall to see it properly, for the sun was reflecting off of the glass front.  
  
[Impa's Sheik's mother?] A slamming door along the hall made me jump, and I fumbled to prevent myself dropping the picture. I clumsily managed to hook it back on the wall, and then hurriedly left the room, feeling my mind turning over and over as I added this to my huge amount of extra information about Sheik. [Why? Why didn't I ask more about him back then?] But, I knew the answer to that only too well.....I didn't think it fair to ask him all about himself, if I couldn't tell him anything about me at all.  
  
"Blaise? Do you want to use the bathroom?" Catherine was wrapped in a fluffy looking red towel, her long braided hair sopping wet.  
  
"Huh? Oh, no – I've still to find myself a room.....I – uh – I will in a minute," I gabbled, trying to sound normal.  
  
"Right.....Well, I'll just go and dry myself off, and then I'll go downstairs and wait for Sheik, 'K?"  
  
"Yeah, that sounds fine." She went into her already chosen room, and I crossed past the stairs to look at the other half of the corridor. [Please don't let it hold too many more surprises.] Thankfully, the first door I flung open contained another of the beautifully stylised bedrooms, and I retreated into it immediately, dropping all my weapons along the way (which was a lot of them!) On emptying my pockets, I found the flask of whisky I had 'confiscated' from the black-cloak earlier. Shakily, I unscrewed the top and poured a large amount of the burning liquid down my throat.  
  
"Demons, that's strong!" I gasped, and took another gulp, before replacing the lid. Slightly fortified by the drink, I dropped down onto the four- poster bed, and removed my shoes. As well as having a stiff tunic, which had dried to crispness after my rescue mission, I also had black tights full of holes and ladders. [Why do women subject themselves to these ridiculous things anyway?] With some difficulty, I removed the stretchy black things, and sat there barelegged, the tunic reaching to my knees in my sitting position.  
  
[This is so comfortable.....] I lay back on the soft mattress, and dropped the flask onto the coverlet next to me. My eyes drifted closed of their own accord, and I bought my now bare legs curling up towards my torso. [That's better]. It had always been my normal sleeping position to be curled up. I knew I was getting a bit too comfortable when I started to yawn, and had to force myself to sit up. [Maybe a good shower will wake me up.] It was certainly worth a try – and, you never did know when you'd next get a chance to wash properly in missions like this.  
  
I went barefoot down the corridor to the bathroom, toes curling against the absurd softness of the carpet. We didn't even have carpets like this in the Angel-world, and, not to boast, but we're _very_ advanced in industry. Obviously not in carpet-making though.....  
  
The bathroom was filled with steam, and the mirror was as such steamed up. I walked over, and cleared a little space on the mirror, so that I could just see my eyes and nose. There was no point in even having them red anymore, and I lifted up the sleeve of my tunic to get the armlet from there. It had only been about five minutes since Sheik had left, and Catherine wouldn't come back up soon (at least, I hoped she wouldn't). I pressed the summons button, and waited – again, the placard appeared, this time reading 'Not you again!'  
  
Loki appeared this time. "Demons! Could you have picked a smaller room?"  
  
"Sorry," I apologised quickly.  
  
"No worries," he snapped his fingers and appeared in his wingless form. "What do you want?"  
  
"Well, Sheik already knows who I am, and Link managed to recognise me, so I thought I may as well just go back to my normal eye colour."  
  
"OK – and the hair?"  
  
"Uh – may as well just leave it. It hasn't annoyed me too much so far, and if it does, I can cut it off."  
  
"Right you are – hang on, I'll have to minify my staff in here." Indeed, a miniature version of his staff appeared in his outstretched right hand, and he made a five point star shape, which tore clear pieces in the steamy air. "Tadum!"  
  
"Done already?" I was surprised.  
  
"Of course – reversing spells is always much easier than casting them.....remember, oh sieve-brained one?" I grinned at him, and then checked my eyes in the mirror – yes, back to violet.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"That's all, right?" I nodded, and he disappeared, calling as he did so, "Be careful!"  
  
"I always try to be," I muttered, walking towards the deep-bottomed bath, and turning on the hot tap. I _had_ come in here to have a shower, but obviously there wasn't one of those, so it looked like I was to have a bath instead. Removing the necessary things to be removed (all right, that would be _everything_), I grabbed a towel from a stack of them in the corner, and climbed into the bath, which was already half-full with just too hot water. I reached over and turned on the cold faucet as well, so that the water began to mix around me. It was a strange sensation; one side was too hot, and the other frozen.  
  
I managed to get the temperature balanced properly after a little time of playing around with the taps, and lay back in the warm water. My hair was already stuck to my forehead by the steam, and I submerged fully to soak it properly. [Soap! Damn, I should have thought of that before I got in!] I then saw that Catherine had left a bar of it on this tiny shelf next to the bath, and I reached up to get it. I took it and made up a lather between my hands, which I then used to wash the dirt and grime out of my hair. [If only I had the time to do the same to my clothes.]  
  
Then, I dipped fully back under the water, and washed the suds from my hair. That done, I leant back against the end of the bath, and sighed contentedly. [I could stay here forever.....]

* * *

"Gah!" I woke up suddenly, splashing a lot of water over the floor. Guess I did fall asleep after all – oops. Blinking the sleep from my eyes, I registered that the voice that had woken me was male!  
  
"Shit! Who is that?" I reached out to get the towel I had discarded on the floor, but couldn't reach it without leaving the lukewarm safety of the water.  
  
"Sorry miss – my name's James – I'm a guard in the Hylian army. I didn't know anyone was in there miss – sorry!"  
  
"Don't worry about it. I'll be out in a second." Chancing it, I climbed out of the bath, shuddering as the cold air assaulted my wet skin. I grabbed the towel, and wrapped it around myself. I picked up my clothes, and then gently opened the door, to discover a scarlet-faced young man clad in armour standing there.  
  
"Oh dear," he looked up, and then down again, blushing more profusely. "Urm – sir Sheik wants to see you down-stairs....."  
  
"Well, go down and tell him I need to get dressed first."  
  
"Yes, of course," still blushing, he stumbled over to the stairs and near fell down them in his haste. I went to my room, and got dressed as quickly as I could manage, not bothering to even put the ruined tights back on, and leaving my legs bare again. My tunic was still terribly stiff, and sat uncomfortably over my damp skin as I towelled my hair to get rid of the most of the water there.  
  
The towel I then wrapped over my shoulders to catch the dripping water from my hair, and I went down the stairs with feet bare. Catherine was sitting at the large table off to the left of the main ground floor room, tucking into a feast of fish and baked potatoes. Sheik was on the other side of the room, conversing quietly with the young guard.  
  
He looked up as I descended, and raised an eyebrow at my – urm – lack of leg attire I suppose. They're not exactly the nicest of things – pale and bony like the rest of me. He blinked, and then summoned me over, pulling out a chair for me to sit on across from him and the young guard. In order to prevent the boy any more embarrassment from bare skin, I removed the towel from my shoulders and lay it over my knees so that it covered the better part of my legs.  
  
"James tells me you fell asleep in the bath? That's not a very clever thing to do," he said, with an amused smile.  
  
"Well, it wasn't planned." I started when I realised he had smiled – but the smile was gone now. "What is it that's so important you sent this lad to look for me?"  
  
"I wanted your help to look through the Shadow Temple of course. This 'lad', as you call him, I've called in to look after Catherine whilst we're gone. Black-cloaks aren't allowed within Kakariko, but I thought it better safe than sorry."  
  
"Good idea. So, you want to go and look at the Temple now?" I was horrified at the idea of going out straight away, still soaking and not quite with it.  
  
"I did think so, but you'll need to eat and dry off a little more, evidently," he frowned. "Go ahead – go and eat – before it's all gone," he cast a laughing pair of eyes towards Catherine, who was still going strong with the food. I got up, wrapped the towel around my shoulders once more, and approached the table carefully, wondering whether Catherine would spring to protect her food.  
  
[You really are insane!] My brain told me, and I snorted at myself. Catherine looked up, a huge hunk of fish halfway to her mouth.  
  
"Hello – help yourself, this stuff's great!" I sat down, and picked up my own knife and fork, and helped myself to some food. Back at the other side of the room, Sheik sat talking to the young man, no doubt briefing him about his mission for the night.

* * *

* * *

"Where are we?" the small green clad child whimpered, two fairies doing little to light the gloomy air around her.  
  
"I'm not quite sure, little one.....though I have an idea," her much taller and older companion answered, sweeping silver hair away from a strong face. "Let us look around and see....."  
  
"It's scary in here," the child insisted, hurrying to catch up with the armour-clad woman, and grab onto her cloak so as not to get lost. The two fairies, one sunbeam yellow, and the other one pure white, settled in the green hair of the girl. The woman, unlike the other three, was seemingly unafraid, and indeed looked quite comfortable in the surroundings.  
  
"Nonsense. This is nothing more than the Shadow Temple." The silver haired woman held up a hand, and was able to conjure a small orb of purple light which illumined the way better that the fairies had. Beads of sweat formed on her brow as they walked onwards. "Aiyee, it's much harder to summon outside of the realm....."

* * *

* * *

_I'll have to cut it off there, or this chapter will go on forever and ever! The search of the Shadow Temple for the two sages will happen next chapter. (Fun fun!) And, I promise we shall be having some proper fighting soon enough.....I just have to get over all of this ridiculous mystery everywhere. It's very different to 'Repaying a Debt', since I have nothing whatsoever to base the whole adventure on [grumbles about plot bunnies, then looks around fearfully lest they come and get her].  
  
Anyway, that was chapter ten. (Hooray). Tune in next chapter.....if you know what's good for you!  
  
RR  
  
Soda_


	11. What do you want to talk about?

**Thievery  
**  
_Disclaimer: .....I can't even be bothered.....  
  
Well, last chapter re-cap. Our heroine gallivanted (I've been wanting to use that word for ages!) off and found Artemis in order to preserve what's left of Sheik's sanity. And then she came back, and they all trekked merrily to Kakariko (I say merrily.....they really squabbled all the way, but we won't go into that).  
  
:: :: = Ganondorf's thoughts, [] = Alexis'/Blaise' thoughts, {} = Navi's thoughts and italics = memories_

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* * *

_

"Are you quite done?" Sheik asked about ten minutes after I had sat down to my meal. The boy was out of sight, no doubt patrolling the perimeter to check for any weaknesses in the house's boundaries, and patch up any he found. I put down my fork, sighed, and pushed my chair back from the table.  
  
"We'll be back in a couple of hours or so," I said to Catherine, guessing (rightly) that Sheik hadn't bothered to fill her in on our plans yet again.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked, also dropping her fork, but in surprise. "You're leaving me behind _again_? Can't I come with you?" I walked in front of Sheik in order to block any scathing comments, and did my best to try and look comforting and stern at the same time.  
  
[I wonder if this is the same kind of dilemma mother's have when disciplining their kids?] "I'm sorry, but you can't come. I know it's annoying, and hard to believe, but you're so important to us, we can't risk you being hurt. To be honest, all that training we have given you is not intended to be used – it's just as a last resort, if you find yourself in danger, and we're not close enough to help you."  
  
"Not that I'd be much use though," she murmured, looking downcast. I just shook my head.  
  
"You'd be able to hold your own until someone came to help you out, and that's all we wanted you to be able to do. I truly am sorry, but we don't intend for you to see battle. We.....we just want you here so that you can help, and, well, it's nice to have another girl on the trip," she laughed weakly at this, and picked up her dropped fork. [Demons, that girl can eat more than I can!] "That guy you saw earlier – whatshisname – urm, James," Sheik confirmed this with a curt nod. "James will be guarding you whilst we're gone. And – heh, this time, you shouldn't worry about being attacked again."  
  
"It wasn't so bad – Firen and Delia managed to get me out."  
  
"All the same, it's only precautionary because black-cloaks aren't even allowed in Kakariko. All right?"  
  
"Of course. Now, go on, and do whatever it is people who save places do!" She pointed sternly at the door, and I felt a weird sense of pride. I could almost see a bit of my younger self in her.....she'd grow up well, no mistake about that. Following her finger, I turned to the door, and Sheik followed me through it, and out into the musky evening light. Being now, as I guessed it, getting into the swing of spring (it rhymes!), the evenings stayed lighter longer. For which I was glad, especially as we walked away from the main village and towards the graveyard.  
  
Don't get me wrong; I'm not scared of graveyards.....[how could I be, I see them enough in my line of work!] But, at nighttime, they're just a little spooky. And, since Hyrule is a world in which I have known the dead to speak, I wasn't relishing the idea of walking around a graveyard in the pitch black. [Who would?] Furtively looking around, and checking that Sheik wasn't about to turn around and speak to me, I lifted up my left hand, and focused on the old scars there. It wasn't strictly illegal to use magic on- world – frowned upon, but not actually against the laws of the Angel Warriors.  
  
The five-point star residing inside the deeply carved pentagon formed David's casting symbol, and I traced the shaped with my eyes, not once breaking the pattern to look at the path. Still not looking, I crouched down as I walked, and managed to catch myself a dry and rather hefty stick from the ground. [I love using magic when it's like this!] I thought gleefully as a little ball of fire appeared above my hand, flowing from the five points of the star and then converging in the centre. Hurriedly, before anyone could see my feat, I bought the stick to the ball, and it took immediately. Then, I doused the spell, shuddering as the magic leaked away. [Demons, the withdrawal is bloody awful on this stuff.]  
  
I then looked up again, holding my makeshift torch happily, and continued after Sheik. The path to the graveyard had changed since I was last here, and now it looped around an entire new section of graves (no doubt bodies found after the war was over), and took us up two long flights of steps to come out right before the entrance to the Shadow Temple, right at the back of the graveyard. As we went, I was thinking about my spell, and trying to think how I had decided to learn fire summoning in the first place. I had this strange feeling that it was something to do with Hyrule, but I couldn't pin it down.....  
  
"There," Sheik said suddenly, in a husky voice. "What Hyrule has become – what it must remain. And for it we fight." He stared reverently at the view the elevated ground gave us, and I looked too. It was magnificent! New settlements had sprouted all over the great field, littering it with dozens of clusters of lights – the Zora river had cut wider meanders, giving water to vast areas of farmland, and had also been channelled in irrigation gulleys to water the land farther away. To the South, I could even make out the twinkling lights of fairies and forest spirits in the greenery of the forest, and lake Hylia was visible just upon the horizon, reflecting the night sky in all it's radiant glory.  
  
"I hope heaven is as beautiful as this," I said, awed. Then I blinked and came out of the stupor, and blushed at the excessively corny line I'd just uttered. Sheik, however, just hmmed, and carried on looking over Hyrule, studying it long and hard. I lamented over my declining sanity and control of emotions, and then decided to stir things into action. Why should I have to wait around for Sheik to give the orders anyway? It wasn't like _I_ was in his army, after all.  
  
"Sheik? Shouldn't we get moving? The light's almost gone, and we still need to figure out how to light all those torches at once....." [Of course, if I were to bend the unspoken rule, I could do it myself no problem.]  
  
"Let's go then." He turned around sharply and made his way into the cavernous abyss which marked the entrance to the Temple. I hefted my torch into a more comfortable position, and followed, plunging into the icy dark. I expected to be torn to shreds the minute I stepped foot inside, but was surprised when not even voices deigned to greet me. Sheik was standing on the dais at the centre, scratching the back of his bandaged head and frowning, obviously trying to solve the torch problem.  
  
"How did we light them last time?" he pondered aloud, only half directing the question at me. I frowned and searched my memory, before stumbling across the method,  
  
"Navi called a favour from the Great Fairy of the Mountain."  
  
"Ah – blast. Well, back to square one then." I struggled with the idea of either telling or not telling him about my magic, and finally decided that telling him would save a lot of time, and perhaps, in doing so, a lot of lives as well.  
  
"Well, I've learned magic in the past few years."  
  
"Anything that could light all of these?" he gestured to the couple of dozen or so torches.  
  
"Maybe..... It'll take a lot of concentration though."  
  
"Something you lack?" he jibed, but I ignored the comment, and sashayed defiantly over to the dais. I vaulted up onto it, and then gently pushed Sheik out of the way.  
  
[Here goes nothing,] I thought with a worried frown. Raising my left hand just as I had done so earlier, I began to trace the pentagram scars. I had to go over them many times to call the magic back, and it flooded through me, quite literally sparkling across my skin in swathes of multi-coloured light, all travelling to the scars on my hand, which glowed first red hot, then white, and then to blue. I'd never in my life called up so much magic to glow blue before.....it was an exquisite feeling. [Perhaps this is what heroine would be like] I thought mistily, as I rose my hand above my head.  
  
[Light all the torches.] I thought. [Light all the torches. Light all the torches.] The mantra went around and around in my mind, and vaguely, I could see Sheik quite literally cowering away from the bright light I exuded. Finally, I couldn't hold the magic anymore, and I had to let it go, a great surge of it exploding outwards like the shockwaves of a bomb. With a roar of air as the magic tore through it, all of the torches lit as one, and heat radiated throughout the cavern, adding to the sweat pouring down me from the sheer power of the spell.  
  
"That was a doozy," I smiled in a sort of daze, and collapsed to my knees. Drawing in a lot of air in a very short time, I managed to come out of possibly the worst after-spell withdrawal I'd ever had in my life.  
  
"Mother?" Sheik called out hoarsely, looking at the lifting stone doorway which led into the Shadow Temple. I looked up, and saw Impa standing there, Saria clutching onto her for dear life, and two fairies floating above them. One was sunbeam yellow, and the other one was pure white.  
  
[Navi?]  
  
{Aye, it's me. Alexis? Or is it Blaise again?}  
  
[So you heard.....]  
  
{Of course – everyone in the Realm knows about you. I had a feeling you'd be back to help us.}  
  
[It's good to see you..... Link!]  
  
{I know, I have to see him. But, there are other things to do first.}  
  
[Of course.] I left the link open, having nothing at all left to hide from the fairy. Sheik and Impa were allowing themselves a restrained embrace, lacking in tears or hurried talking. They pulled apart after only a few seconds, and then Impa looked around. I'd never really met the woman, apart from that one time when she fled with the Princess. Only now was I able to appreciate her full imposing stature of about six foot, all clad in highly polished armour, and with a fierce, wise face. The sort of face that could, and probably had, propelled people into battle.  
  
I had almost forgotten Saria, when she flew over to me, and hovered thankfully in the light of the torch I still held. "You're Link's friend aren't you? The Angel girl?" I nodded, and smiled down at her. "Good – at least I know there's someone slightly less.....Sheikan here....." she grinned guiltily. "They're just all so – cold."  
  
"It's their way," I whispered back to her. "Though....." my eyes misted over, and the Kokiri Sage had to wave her hand in front of my face to wake me up. "Sorry, what was I saying?"  
  
"We must get back to the house," Sheik commanded. "We have to move on."  
  
"Move Catherine again? She'll have just gotten settled," I objected.  
  
"Well, she'll have to get unsettled again then, won't she?" I repressed the want to hit him really hard, and extended a hand to Saria.  
  
"I can't go out there!" she exclaimed, terrified.  
  
"Oh, for Goddesses sake!" Sheik growled, and stomped out. Impa came over, and bent down to be on eye-level with the girl.  
  
"Do not worry – you are already out of your forest, but as a Sage, you still live. Now, come on, and quickly." Saria nodded, and clutched more firmly on my hand as we left the Shadow Temple and hurried after Sheik, who was stalking away towards the village.  
  
{So, I see his mood swings haven't improved with age?}  
  
[Sadly, no.] Leaving Saria in the care of the two fairies and Impa, I sped forwards to fall into stride with Sheik. "Why've we got to move the girl? Surely, as you said, she'll be safe enough here."  
  
"It's not just a matter of her safety," he answered cryptically.  
  
"Then, what _is_ it for then? For demons' sake, can you not stop talking in riddles for one moment?"  
  
"I suppose not," he answered with an infuriating singsong voice.  
  
"Sheik, I'm warning you!" my voice was beginning to rise, and he stopped, and looked behind us. Impa and Saria had stopped to survey the new Hyrule from the top of the hill. Sure that we wouldn't be overheard, Sheik glared at me coolly.  
  
"We must move her, because, whilst the black-cloaks cannot enter Kakariko, both Aghanim and Ganondorf can. And, well, judging from what Impa told me,"  
  
"Your _mother_ Sheik," I cut in, and he made a grunt of annoyance.  
  
"Yes, my mother – not that it's important. As I was saying.....whilst she was in the Realm, she was exposed to the powers of Dragmire.....and she believes the vile creature has the ability to spy upon us, so it would be best to move to a place where his prying eyes cannot see us."  
  
"A Sheikan camp?" I guessed, and he seemed shocked.  
  
"Aye," he answered, covering up the bewilderment with more information, "And if we're to get to one before we're discovered, we must hurry." Again, he sped forwards – looking over my shoulder, I could see Impa watching the two of us with eerie understanding in her eyes. She nodded once to me, and I returned the gesture – she and the other three started to descend the hill. I too carried on, walking in between the two parties who belonged here.....

* * *

* * *

::This Desert is vaster than I remember:: Ganondorf thought as he shaded his eyes from the glaring moonlight. The dunes were shifting in a light easterly breeze, individual grains of the red sand being plucked from their resting place and twirled about in the air. Ganondorf wasn't sure how long he had been travelling – but, what did it matter? He wasn't thirsty, or tired, or hungry, and he wouldn't be, unless he decided he wanted to be. And how likely was that to happen? He grinned at his own power as he got bored of wading through the sand, and rose himself to float a few millimetres above it instead.  
  
To his great surprise, his magic suddenly faltered, and he collapsed to the cool sand with a grunt of pain. Rolling over, he could feel his Tri-Force piece throbbing, and he looked at the back on his hand, on which his Tri- Force of Power was shining brightly at the top of the magical Triangle. However, the bottom right piece (the Tri-Force of Courage) was also stuttering slightly, and Ganondorf's lips curved into a smile. ::So the Hero's life begins to fail him.....::  
  
With a chuckle of pure, blissful glee, he conjured another of the misty pictures he had been using to watch Hyrule. There lay the _one_. The one who had done it. ::The one who killed me. And look at you now, boy!:: But boy wasn't exactly the right term. For the Link that Ganondorf now watched was old, and frailer than he made out. Even his protestations against treatment for whatever illness it was that ailed him, were weak. ::Well, that should make things exquisitely simple,:: Ganondorf thought as he switched the picture off, and then got up, and dusted the sand from his clothes. He settled on walking once more, putting to use the muscles that had not been used for half a century.

* * *

* * *

Back at Impa's house, we found Catherine and the guard boy sitting before the fire, Catherine snoozing lightly, and the boy in the process of dropping off. When he sleepily looked up at Sheik, he nearly jumped out of his skin, and leapt up from the chair so violently that it fell over backwards. "Just resting my eyes for a moment sir!" he said breathlessly, saluting. Catherine woke up with a small scream, and then looked around.  
  
"Blaise, who are.....? Is that a Kokiri? And what's _that_? Is that a-?"  
  
"Fairy?" Navi guessed, flitting over to the awed Catherine. "That I am – my name's Navi," Navi settled on top of Catherine's head, and Catherine beamed.  
  
"Wow....." Saria's fairy also went over, and settled next to Navi. "So, urm, anyway.....are you going to introduce me and James?"  
  
'Who?' I was about to say, when I remembered that was the guard boy's name. "Oh yes. Well, this is Impa, this is Saria, and those two fairies on your head are Navi and....."  
  
"Murl," Saria supplied.  
  
"Navi and Murl. Everyone whose name I just said, this is Catherine, and this is James."  
  
"Now that we're all introduced," Sheik said sarcastically, "perhaps we can get going."  
  
"Going? Where?" Catherine asked. But Sheik had already walked back out of the door, and was waiting outside in the deepening night. "So helpful, isn't he?" she muttered to me as she walked past to the door, stretching as she went. The two fairies were still on her head, and I smiled as it hit me..... Murl in Hyrule was a boy's name.....  
  
[Navi's got a boyfriend!]  
  
{Ack, sod off! We're busy!}  
  
[I will merely say I'm shocked.]  
  
{Mmm.....} Navi lost coherency as she and her fairy man no doubt continued whatever I had interrupted. Thank Demons they actually left Catherine's head quite quickly after this exchange, or I think the girl would have been scarred for life to think what was happening on top of her head.  
  
Well, apart from that, nothing else amusing was going to happen that night. As soon as we were out of the door, Sheik managed to silently slam it shut (which is a feat in itself.....), whilst simultaneously grabbing my collar and throwing me to fall into stride with James at the front of the group. The boy's face was a mask of fear, and I patted him on the shoulder to try and calm him. It worked, but only a little. Sheik then appeared, and took the lead.  
  
Looking back, I could see that Catherine was in the capable hands of Saria and Impa. Above them were Navi and Murl (now thankfully separated again). James, being a guard, would be able to take care of himself, so I managed to catch up with Sheik without feeling guilty at leaving the others behind. "Now, where are we going?" I hissed with what little breath I had left for talking.  
  
"I can't tell you."  
  
"Why, by demons, not?"  
  
"Because I am not entirely positive that you will not give our position away," he answered. "Now, just follow, like a good girl." Yet again, I had to repress the urge to hurt him in some way. I did, however, concede, as always just trying to make life as easy on myself as possible. What was the point of even bothering to start a fight with the man? He wasn't sensible enough to row it out properly, and I didn't want another scar to add to my collection.

* * *

Sheik led us out of the village and upwards, onto the basalt and granite that made up the foot of Death Mountain. Again, I began to gauge how long it had been since I had last trod this road, preferring my memories to the reality of the present. Memories were so much easier to put up with. Even the exceptional beauty of Hyrule, which I had admired not so long ago, couldn't deter me from my obstinate desire not to notice the things around me.  
  
It was when we began to actually have to climb that I had to force myself to be aware again. If the climb the first time around had been arduous, it was nothing to this. The thing hadn't erupted for a long time, so the outer layer of volcanic rock had been worn away by the wind and rain of half a century. Coupled with rock falls, floods and freeze-thaws, the mountainside had changed miraculously in a very short period of time. Which, of course, meant I couldn't reside in the past.  
  
Catherine was finding the whole experience difficult, as was Saria. Impa nonchalantly picked Saria up after one of her many falls, and placed her over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I could do no such thing with Catherine, but I did help her as best I could, making her climb in front of me, and stopping her from literally spiralling away from the mountain every so often.  
  
And then.....the rain started.  
  
Good old spring rain – you can always rely on it to make things just that _little_ bit more dangerous. "Sheik!" I yelled up, and he stopped again to wait for us to catch up. We'd been going like this for perhaps an hour, and Catherine was direly in need of a rest. "Sheik, you insane cretin, how much farther?"  
  
"Well, if you'd climb faster, then we would be there by now!" he yelled back down, and a shower of small stones fell as he shifted his feet, eager to move off again. James was next to him, and also looked down.....and I don't know. Something below us must have shocked him, because, the next thing I knew, he was falling. Falling past Catherine and I, towards the ground many thousands of yards below. Impa reached out a great arm to try and catch the boy, and missed him by inches. Navi and Murl, however, were quick off the mark, and flew like speeding bullets of light after him.  
  
{That,} Navi gulped {was close}.  
  
[You don't say,] I replied shakily. The two fairies bought James back to the cliff face, to which he clung for dear life.  
  
"Sir – sir," he stuttered, shivering. "I believe we should get going again as soon as possible....." the rest of the sentence was drowned out by the rain, and I saw Sheik's eyes widen at whatever the end had been.  
  
"Hurry up – keep up with me, and it'll be about five minutes more until we can stop." And with that, we set off again. Catherine only moved because I lifted one of her hands, and dragged it upwards to another handhold in the rock. Otherwise, I believe she would have stayed glued to the spot, shocked by what she had just seen. I was busy wondering what it was that James had just told Sheik, whilst helping her to carry on in the climb.  
  
True to his word, about five minutes later (slip free and with the slope getting gentler as we went on), we reached the top of our climb. However, on seeing a bare rock face in front of us, I wondered what game Sheik was playing. I watched with mistrust as he fumbled under his cloak for something. Was his plan to bring us up here and then go off with a Deku- nut?  
  
No – he bought out a sort of amulet, embossed with (surprise) the eye of Truth. This, he laid against the cliff face, shivering slightly, and held it there. The rain was getting heavier, and the wind blew it straight into us, soaking us through. Catherine let out a loud sneeze, and then clutched onto me, for fear that she might fall over the edge due a particularly large gust. Again, I could grab a memory from the past of Hyrule to relate to.  
  
When Sheik had been in a period of mistrust with me, and we were climbing Death Mountain (using a path then) in order to get to the Fire Temple. Back then I had been the one liable to be blown away – thank Demons Link had been so kind to help me back then..... Realising the fear Catherine must be feeling at that very moment, I placed an arm around her, and held onto the rock with the other.  
  
Finally, something happened. Actually, it happened so suddenly that I missed it by blinking. One moment, the rock face was solid, and the next, there was a gaping hole, from which warm light emanated, as well as a gust of hot air. "So this is where they moved camp to," Impa called to her son above the wind, and he nodded, concentrating as he made his way down into the mountain. James followed, and stood at the mouth of the cave to help the rest of us down.  
  
When we were all in, James held the amulet up, and immediately, the rock returned to cover the doorway, blotting out the wind and the rain, and most importantly, the noise. We no longer had to shout, and had gone to other extreme, talking in whispers. "Are you all right Catherine?" I asked, letting go of her, and walking behind her down roughly hewn steps, getting ever closer to the heat and light.  
  
"Yeah, I'm – achoo!" she sneezed loudly, and it echoed from the stone. "Sorry. What I meant to say was 'I'm OK now'."  
  
"Good," I smiled, patting her on the shoulder. "Couldn't have you getting ill on us now."

* * *

The Sheikan 'camp' beneath the mountain, was just that. Dozens of brightly coloured tents resided in a series of huge caverns, and fountains of both hot and cold water spouted from the cave floors, to fall into specially carved pools. Thirsty and tired, I left Catherine, who wanted to explore the whole place, and was following the boy, James, about the place. Going to one of the pools of water nearby (one that I judged to be cold, as no steam was rising from the surface), I dropped down, and trailed a hand into it.  
  
[Demons, it's freezing!] I exclaimed in my mind, and withdrew my hand immediately. Droplets of the icy fluid clung to my frozen fingers, adding to the moisture already there from the rain. Still thirsty, I transferred these few drops to my mouth, but they didn't nearly sate my thirst.  
  
Everyone else had already left this first cavern (which, compared to the one I could see through the arch that the others had gone through, was tiny), so I was comfortable at least in the fact that I was alone. With this in mind, I stood up again, and moved closer to the pool, kneeling down before it. Stooping down, I caught a quick reflection of myself, but it was soon gone as I literally dropped my head to the water, and drank that way.  
  
The water running down my throat and into my stomach was so cold that it succeeded in making me splutter, and I had to sit up again to get the coughing under control. {Alexis? Is that you coughing?} Navi suddenly launched herself into my mind.  
  
[Aye, it's me – a bit of water went down the wrong way, that's all,] I assured her.  
  
{Oh.....where are you anyway?}  
  
[In the first chamber – don't worry, I'll be along in a minute.] She made a noise of understanding, and then a thin veil was drawn over the link. I sat, and looked at the ripples I had made on the water, not really relishing the idea of getting up. With any luck, Navi was the only one who had noticed my absence, and I'd be allowed to rest in peace and quiet.  
  
"Blaise!" Sheik's voice thundered from the second cavern. Perhaps not then.....  
  
Getting up from my seat, I strolled through into the second cavern – I had underestimated its size, I thought, as I craned to see through the shadows on the ceiling, and judge how high the place was. But, it was impossible. The light of the dozens of strongly burning torches held on the walls couldn't penetrate the gloom that hung above. A flash of moving indigo told me where the others were, and I hurried over, wondering what exactly was so urgent. "Yes?" I asked, slightly out of breath still from the mountain climb.  
  
"Just making sure you hadn't run off," he said quietly, narrowing his eyes at me.  
  
"How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not going to!" I hissed back. I was about to carry on and ask him what it was that James had seen back on the mountain-side, but he turned away. Catherine, Impa, James, Saria, Navi and Murl looked between the two of us inquisitively. Noticing, I smiled half-heartedly, "Don't worry, we always fight."  
  
"You don't say....." Catherine muttered with a sly grin on her face, and she nudged James. Both of them laughed silently – luckily, I don't think Sheik noticed, as his attention had been caught by other things. The other things in fact being the very Sheikah we had seen earlier that same day.  
  
"Sheik, you and your companions travel fast," Artemis smiled, and gracefully leapt from the shadow of one of the many tents about. He was closely followed by Firen and Delia, who were also smiling in that infuriatingly demure Sheikah way. "How long do you suppose you'll stay?"  
  
"I'm not sure my friend," Sheik answered, voice suddenly calm again. "As long as needs must I suppose. This is the only place where Ganondorf's wondering eyes cannot pierce, so perhaps it would be best if the child were to stay here until she is needed." Catherine coughed very loudly at this, but was ignored. I looked at her sympathetically, and then Impa caught my eye with a serious stare. Sure that I was looking at her, she beckoned me over, and walked away from the others, back towards the first cavern.  
  
Unsure of what it was she would have to tell me, I followed, straining to hear what Sheik and Artemis discussed. "Stay as long as.....wish. We'll give.....and tents to stay....." Artemis said that.  
  
"Thank.....friend. I'll need to.....Kakariko.....morning. Guard.....monsters on field."  
  
I had to stop listening when Impa paused, and turned to look at me, again pinning me with that calculating gaze. "I take it you already know the relationship between Sheik and I?" she demanded an answer, rather than asked for one.  
  
"Aye," I nodded.  
  
"Then, you will understand if I show some concern about whatever it is going on between you two." This was certainly a surprise.....  
  
"I'm not sure what you mean," I said slowly.  
  
"It is obvious that there was once something between you – however, when you betray the trust of a Sheikah, it is not easily won back. I would suggest you do not break trust again, or you may find something other than a relationship also breaks." With that final warning, she turned her heel and returned to the others. I wanted to reach out and pull her back, but I didn't. She had obviously said all she wanted to say to me.  
  
With a feeling that the time we spent here would not be at all enjoyable for me, I too returned to the group, which was chattering quietly – the Sheikah to one another, Saria to her fairies, and James to Catherine. As I looked at the two of them, I fondly remembered the old days as Catherine said something that made the Hylian guard blush scarlet. Then, looking at Impa, the old days were blown away like dusty cobwebs, and I stood alone, looking aimlessly around the cavern.  
  
When I was finally acknowledged, it was only because Firen kindly made his way over to me closely followed by Artemis, to inform me of the arrangements that had been made for us. "We'll be setting up a few new tents for you in the third cavern – that's the one that is most easily defendable should we come under attack," he said, gesturing towards another arch in the stone, at the top of which I could see a wrought iron portcullis ready to drop down at any moment.  
  
"Firen!" Delia called, and Firen, after a curt bow, hurried off. This left only Artemis, who stood surveying me with his good eye.  
  
"Impa spoke to you?" he asked suddenly, so quietly that I could almost have imagined it.  
  
"Yes, she did," I replied distantly, as I found myself nigh on unable to stop looking at Sheik. [Blast it..... I'm supposed to hate him!]  
  
"Don't worry about her.....she has always been protective of her sons," I returned my attention to him, interested to see a pink tinge enter his pale cheeks. "When she learnt of my relationship with Shadow,"  
  
"Shadow? Sheik's brother?"  
  
"Yes.....well, she was in the Realm at the time, but she did threaten to come back and ritually cremate me if I did so much as one thing to harm him," Artemis chuckled at the memory. I was confused, and he must have seen the confusement on my face when he looked up, because he added. "All I'm saying is, don't mind Impa – she just wants to make sure that her son isn't hurt. And, well.....sometimes her advice can be useful." He smiled, and, feeling it polite to do so, I returned the smile.  
  
"Now, I believe we should go and get those tents ready – I suppose you can just meander around by yourselves whilst you wait?" I nodded, adding another smile – this cursed Sheikah man seemed to be a lot more cheerful than most of his kind, and he didn't even have any reason to be. Before he left, he placed a small hand on mine. "Don't worry." And then, he went off, collecting the other Sheikah on the way, so that only the forest sage, Navi, Murl, James, Catherine and I were left.  
  
"Blaise, there you are!" Catherine literally bounced over. "I was beginning to think we'd gone and lost you."  
  
"Worse luck, we didn't manage it," Navi said with a twinkling laugh. I suppressed the urge to snatch her out of the air just as Link had done many times, remembering the reprimand she had given to him on such occasions. {Good idea!}  
  
"Yes, thanks Navi," I said sarcastically. "Artemis said we could just look around to our hearts' content, so....." I quickly flickered my eyes back to the first cavern, and Navi, seeming to catch my drift, immediately began to shepherd James and Catherine away, talking loudly and animatedly about what they might find if they 'went over this way a bit'. Thankful for the fairy's – tact? – I made my slow way towards the first cavern, Saria following behind, just as I had hoped. It was about time I got the full story on what had happened whilst I was away from Hyrule, and no one else was likely to give it to me.

* * *

Again, I sat down by the pool from which I had drunk, and Saria did the same, crossing her legs daintily as she settled down beside me. Murl was sending flashes of sunbeam-like light through her hair as he moved up and down in time of his wing-beats, and I stared absently for a couple of seconds whilst I tried to think of something to say. "Navi said you might want to talk to me at some point," Saria said quietly, and I was surprised and thankful that she had spoken first. "So, if you want to talk, then I'd be happy to," she smiled sweetly, and brushed a hand through her green hair, nudging her fairy as she did so.  
  
"Hey!" he exclaimed in annoyance. Saria jumped.  
  
"Murl! I thought you'd gone with Navi."  
  
"I was supposed to?" he said.  
  
"Yes, you were," Saria said firmly back, and the fairy obediently flitted off. "Sorry about that.....sometimes I can forget I even have a fairy, he's been with me so long!"  
  
"That's all right," I told her, laughing a little.  
  
"Now, what do you want to talk about?" Saria asked, leaning forwards, and lifting her knees up in order to rest her chin upon them. Her arms were encircled around her knees, and she tilted her head to one side. "Go ahead, anything you like. I haven't spoken to anyone apart from Navi, Murl and the other sages for quite a while, after all!" Even with her child-like appearance, I could tell her age well – and it was one much, much greater than mine. Which was slightly intimidating.  
  
I wondered where to start. What should I ask? More importantly, what could I ask, and know that she would answer? I looked away, and cast my eyes helplessly over the pool of cold water beside us – the bottom, about ten feet down, was easily visible through the crystal clear water – a few coins and precious stones lay scattered on the bottom, perhaps thrown in for good luck.  
  
"What if I start at the beginning then?" Saria asked after a few minutes of this tense quiet. "From when you left?" I drew my eyes away from my study of the paraphernalia at the bottom of the pool, and looked down at her.  
  
"I – uh – yes, that would be good.....I am not sure exactly what I want to know, so the beginning would be as good a place as any to start." Saria nodded, and dropped her legs, so that she now sat cross legged. I copied the gesture, finding it much more comfortable than the way I had been sitting (legs curled beneath me).  
  
"From the start....." she said, more to herself than me, and she screwed up her eyes as no doubt she thought of what to say. "Well, at first, we Sages didn't get to see much, because we were still sealing Ganondorf away – I think that must have taken us a good few weeks at least. But, when we were able to look out at the world again, we found that we all sort of – knew – what had happened whilst we'd been sealing him. If that makes sense?" She looked up, and I nodded; I knew the feeling of knowing something and not having learnt it all too well.  
  
"Well, what we – or, rather, I, since the others weren't really all that interested..... I found out that Link and Sheik had learnt all about who you were from the Gerudo woman Xenia. And, after finding out that they could do nothing to help you, Sheik disappeared for a few years, and Link was rather subdued for many moths after the end of the Great War. Then, he was graced with the position of Lord Protector by Zelda, and was married to Malon shortly after." All of this I had known, but it was nice to be told it at length.  
  
"Malon and Link lived long together, and they had many children (I cannot remember all of their names I'm afraid!) However, Malon was only alive long enough to see their first grand-child born, and then she died of a fever. This left Link much alone," Saria's voice wavered slightly, "As, though Sheik had returned but a year after he disappeared after the Great War, he left again, and hadn't been seen for many years. To cap it all off, the esteemed majesty Zelda had.....taken her own life years before. The only comfort Link had were his children and his grandchildren, and the knowledge that Hyrule would be safe because of all that he had done....." she trailed off, and stared hopelessly into space.  
  
"And yet, here we are again, saving Hyrule, because Ganondorf has broken free," I finished the thought aloud for her, and she nodded.  
  
"Exactly....." She came to, and looked straight at me again. "That wasn't really a lot of information I'm afraid.....what else would you like to know? I can tell you of Sheik, if you want me to." I looked around, to check that we wouldn't be disturbed, and then bent down slightly so that my head was on a level with the Kokiri girl's.  
  
"If you would, I'd be grateful indeed."  
  
"Well, I know a little, but not much mind!"  
  
"Anything you know will do."  
  
"OK – after he left the world for the second time, he travelled to the ports, and went over the sea to the North, to the land of elves and nymphs. There, he worked as a mercenary for many years, and came across his brother, Shadow, who had gone with the princess Zelda and Impa, his mother, when the whole War began. Shadow and Sheik had not expected to see one another ever again, and Sheik was more than surprised to find that Shadow had a....." Saria blushed. "It feels strange talking about this when one will always be a child," she giggled nervously.  
  
"Urm – 'Sheik was surprised when he found that Shadow was having a relationship with Artemis' – would that wording be comfortable?" I asked, with a semi-grin. She blushed again, and nodded.  
  
"Yes – what you said. And, even though Sheik didn't at first approve, when he realised how much love was shared between the two, he came to accept it. And, he also came to realise that there were many other Sheikah in the North-Lands, who had not returned after the Great War; they believed that Hyrule would no longer need them, as the danger was passed.....however, they were wrong.....  
  
"Sheik's mercenary work would oft take him into dark places, filled with monsters, which is why he fights so well now. But, whilst he was fighting all these dark creatures, darkness was coming into Hyrule by way of that sorcerer, Aghanim!" She scowled at the name. "He's an evil creature, through and through! And I cannot see how Thelia, the fool, cannot tell it!" Her fists were clenched, and her breathing heavy, and I began to see the side of this Sage that must have made her the perfect choice for helping to seal Ganondorf. "Excuse me," suddenly she was the calm, sweet Kokiri child I had come to know again. "But, as I was saying – Aghanim was pervading the court, and bringing his black-cloaks with him – and as Thelia was queen, nobody could object to it.  
  
"On hearing of the presence of a sorcerer, of all things, Sheik returned to Hyrule, with his brother and Artemis in tow, as well as a platoon of twenty other Sheikah. They arrived back to Hyrule about ten years ago now, and kept themselves hidden – a few people glimpsed them now and again, but most people believed that the Sheikah were gone forever.  
  
"A sort of – how do you say – gang warfare?" she looked to me for confirmation of the phrase, and I nodded. "Gang warfare started up between the Sheikah (more of whom were returning to Hyrule week on week as Sheik, the son of Impa, and therefore their new leader, called them),"  
  
"He's their leader?"  
  
"Well, he was.....now, I am not sure that there are even enough Sheikah left for them to need a leader. You do know that he's a general in the Hylian army though, don't you?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Bother, where was I?"  
  
"You were telling me about gang warfare – sorry for interrupting."  
  
"Quite all right. This gangwarfare was all fought out quietly, out of sight of the everyday Hylians, and almost always at night. The black-cloaks would use magic, and the Sheikah would use every Sheikah trick they had – magic and physical."  
  
"That's what he meant about the spell marks....." I remembered suddenly his comment.  
  
"Indeed – both he and his brother were grievously harmed in one of the later battles, and whilst he survived, his brother did not. Soon after that, Artemis was cursed, and that really brings you up to date. After all of that, things settled down again, with just the occasional fight between the two sides. Sheik, Artemis, Firen and Delia took to living in the catacombs, and the other Sheikah spread out over Hyrule, intermarrying with Hylians, and setting up home."  
  
"Now I can understand his hatred of those black-cloaks," I murmured, turning over what had just been said in my mind. Saria just made a small sound of agreement, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw her head suddenly snap upwards. I followed her gaze, and saw that the Sheikah were returning from the third cave, and Firen had obviously seen us, as he was walking over. Quickly, I sprang up, and Saria did the same. Looking down at her, I smiled broadly, and mouthed 'thank you'.  
  
'You're welcome', she mouthed back, and then Firen was there, calling us back into the second cavern.

* * *

* * *

_Well – oh, sod it, I've nothing witty to say, so just tell me what you thought.  
  
Soda_


	12. Manipulations

**Thievery**  
  
_Disclaimer: 'Please return to sender at this address.....'  
  
How could I say no to kizna's review? Simply worded, but heart felt methinks. [Hugs]. Thanks – nice to know I'm not forgotten.  
  
Now that the troupe is safe in the Sheikan camp beneath Death Mountain, what by the Golden Goddesses are they going to do next? Only the muses and I know [evil smirk.]  
  
You know the drill :: :: = Ganondorf's thoughts, [] = Alexis'/Blaise' thoughts, {} = Navi's thoughts and italics = memories_

* * *

* * *

Enough of the brightly coloured tents had been set up so that we had one of them each. Rather than withdraw into the one I'd been designated, I sat before the open entrance, and kicked off my sopping boots, so that my (still bare) feet could dry off. The one large pillow that had been inside the tent, I had dragged forwards, and I pulled it towards me so that I could lean back on it. Now that there was no longer a need to move around, my adrenaline levels had gone back down, and I realised just how blasted cold I was.  
  
As if sensing my discomfort, Artemis came by only a few minutes later with a blazing torch held in his hands, closely followed by Firen, who had an armful of firewood. "Follow us – we're going to light a fire in the central chamber," he called in his small voice, and I did as I was told, not bothering to put my boots back on, and instead walking barefoot over the rock, which, as I went back towards the main cavern, became warmer..... [Must be the heat of the magma from the crater,] I guessed, carefully stepping over a gravelly patch in the floor, and thanking my lucky stars that I had tough feet to begin with.  
  
Back in the main cavern, I could see that everyone else had already gathered, and they were sitting around an already large pile of firewood. All of them looked up as Artemis and Firen came in, and I hung back a little until their eyes were all diverted away again. I didn't feel up to scrutiny – I had the horrible feeling that I was on the brink of a fever or some such, and didn't feel too good, so I guessed I wouldn't look too great either.  
  
Firen dumped the last load of wood onto the pile, and then Artemis touched his burning torch to the whole lot – it took immediately, and crackled all over the bone dry wood. Even from my vantage point at the arch to the third cavern, I could feel a tide of warmth wash over me, and was drawn forward by the inviting flicker of the flames. Even the presence of Sheik (and his formidable mother), not to mention the other two Sheikah and the telepath who would know my every thought if I wasn't careful, could not quash my desperate need to warm myself up before vital appendages (like my feet) fell off.  
  
I stepped down from the archway and across the rough steps that were hewn directly into the rock, and took up a seat near the wall, directly opposite the fire. A banner attached to the wall above had me half in shadow – sadly, what with having such pale legs, the part of me that was in the light stood out like a sore thumb. "Hey, Blaise, come over here, you'll get warmer quicker," Catherine beckoned, holding her own hands out before the fire, and then rubbing them together briskly.  
  
I did as she had suggested, and came and sat down next to her (luckily, this also meant that I was as far away from Sheik as physically possible). "So, James, are you going to tell the rest of us what you saw out there that made you fall, or not?" Catherine asked, turning back to the group. Evidently, this was a conversation that had been going on for a while. James cast a glance at Sheik, obviously asking his superior whether or not to tell. Sheik frowned, and nodded.  
  
James gulped, and then quickly looked around at the whole circle. "It may sound stupid, what with all the monsters all of you must have seen....."  
  
"Just tell!" Catherine urged, giving him a playful shove, and he blushed in embarrassment.  
  
"Yes – urm. Well, it was just a pack of skultullas, a few of the black kargoroks and the lesser wizrobes.....nothing really, but seeing them in such great numbers shocked me." All those who had heard of the creatures were shocked – Catherine, however, just smiled and nodded, as if to say 'is that all?' Obviously, James' tone of voice had assured her that this was nothing to worry about. Wizrobes? They only _ever, **ever**_ came out of their lairs when true dark magic was over a land.  
  
I caught Sheik's eye, and wouldn't allow him to look away. Again, I had one of my brief internal battles, mentally shot myself in the back of the head for being an idiot, and got up. Sheik got up also, and followed me all the way out into the first, entrance cavern. Looking back, I saw that the group, which had been tensed, was beginning to relax, and Catherine must have cracked some sort of joke, as they all began to laugh, and then the chatter came back up to a normal level.  
  
"Wizrobes, Sheik? Is this how you plan to tell your guards about monster problems then?" I slumped against the wall, and then winced as I managed to widen a tear in my tunic. "Damn it."  
  
"No, this wasn't how I was planning to tell, actually," he answered stiffly, pulling his facemask off, and discarding it. "Sodding thing – it's soaked." He kicked it, and then left it crumpled on the floor. "And what was that 'damn it' for?" I looked down at the tear in my tunic, and then decided against dignifying that with an answer. His eyes flickered to follow my eye line, and he raised an amused eyebrow.  
  
"Oh, shut up!" I growled.  
  
"I didn't say a word."  
  
"You didn't need to." I slumped again, albeit more carefully this time. "Question; what is a 'black kargorok'? I've never heard of them before....."  
  
"Ah – well, you wouldn't have. They're a new type of monster Aghanim managed to procure. He managed to cross a hawk with a bat, and then crossbred _that_ with a vulture. And then made the things twice as big again as a normal Hylian man." He narrowed his eyes. "That bastard's always had a sick fascination with manipulating nature."  
  
"Meaning?" I asked, and then yet again found myself mentally thwacking myself. [Of course, Artemis.] "OK, ignore that I asked that."  
  
"I was going to anyway." A wry smile managed to cross his face, before it was wiped out with a worried frown. "The proximity of all those creatures does make me wonder." He scratched the back of his head, the frown growing ever more obvious.  
  
"You don't think; he wouldn't be here, would he?" I of course, was referring to Aghanim.  
  
"I don't know. I can't see any reason why he would be here – and yet, I can't shake the feeling." Suddenly, he snapped his head up, and I could visibly see his ears perk. I strained to catch some sound that shouldn't have been, but, whatever it had been, I couldn't hear it. "Can I tr- wait, stupid question. Let me rephrase this. Will you do what I say without arguing?"  
  
"If it'll help the mission, then I suppose so," I sighed. "What did you hear?"  
  
"I'm not sure." He rummaged around his person for a few seconds, and came out with that Sheikah amulet. "But may as well check, just in case." My eyes widened as he grabbed my arm, and then dropped it as though it had burnt him. "Follow me," he ordered softly, ignoring the brief contact, and moving towards the wall we had entered through a short while ago. He held the amulet up, and the wall disappeared, opening out onto the mountainside, which was still being battered by the rain and the wind.  
  
"Wait – you've not got any of your weapons," I pointed out, surprised that he had taken them off. He never took them off; such is the way of permanent 'adventurers'. He looked down, and then shrugged.  
  
"If something attacks me, I'll bite it," he decided, and then strode out onto the cliff-face; the storm didn't seem to affect him at all, and I envied his ability to stare directly into the on-coming rain without difficulty. I followed, and he closed to rock-face door behind us. Looking around, it was hard to make anything out through the murky nighttime air.  
  
It was only when a shrieking call sounded from above that I realised we might be in just a mite of trouble. Sheik peered up, and visibly blanched – I already had my sword out, but was unable to use it, as he backed into me, and knocked it from my hands. I reached out, tried to catch it, missed, and it fell away into the darkness. "Damn it!" I cursed loudly, and he jumped, as I had yelled it directly into his ear. "That was my sword you idiot!"  
  
"Better your sword than your life," he hissed back. "Now, for the love of the Goddesses', be quiet!" Then, he turned around to face the cliff again, and took out the amulet. "Keep me covered."  
  
"Yes sir," I saluted in a parody of a soldier, and wondered how exactly I was supposed to 'keep him covered', since the git had just knocked my sword down a mountain. [Idiot]. The only weapons that would be of any use were my daggers, and then, only at short range. [Hang on a minute – long shot?] I couldn't believe my stupidity, and I hurriedly removed the shining contraption from my waist.  
  
Another of those shrieks, and finally I saw a form to go with it. Like a giant bird, huge enough to block out the stars (had any been visible), with an outstretched neck devoid of feathers, and a cruel, sharp beak. It was completely black, apart from the mottled grey/blue feathers upon its tail. It hovered, and then made to strike; I bought up the long shot in my right hand, and, since it was still there, my dagger in the left. The long shot I fired, which managed to deter the bird – or, as I had guessed, the black kargorok.  
  
"Sheik, what's taking so long?" I asked, straining eyes and ears to prepare for another inevitable attack.  
  
"I can't find the dratted keyhole!" he grunted, and turning my head slightly, I could see him running his hands hurriedly over the rock, amulet dangling around his left wrist. "I can't see a thing.....if that cloud would move, and I had some light, it would be easier." I just sighed, and hurriedly wrenched a few dregs of un-focused magic from myself, and eased them into a fire charm. Un-focused magic, whilst not very reliable, does work for short bursts, which was all we'd need it for.  
  
"Will that do?"  
  
"That's fine – now, it must be to the left some more....." I shuffled along so that he could study the piece of wall I'd been leaning on. I held my left hand up, and in my right, the long shot was cocked, ready to fire. A click told me that Sheik had managed to find the keyhole, and I turned around, just to be sure. He looked up with a tight smile, and then his eyes widened in horror.  
  
"Wha-" Something grabbed me from behind, and sharp claws sliced through my tunic and into my skin. I was lifted from the ledge, and pulled away sharply – craning to look upwards, I saw a long, outstretched neck, devoid of feathers..... Something else grabbed onto my leg, and I looked down to see Sheik straining to pull me down again. Finally getting over the shock, I too began to struggle, to try and get out of this creature's iron-grip.  
  
"Firen!" Sheik bellowed into the cavern. "Help!" Sheik's grasp was slipping, and he called again, more desperately. "Move it you idiot!" But, it was too late – Sheik's grip on me failed completely, which sent both the black kargorok and I spiralling away from the mountainside. Then, we were buffeted by the wind, and the bird, so surprised by this sudden change of air-currents, relinquished its grip.  
  
[Shit!] As I fell towards the ground, I closed my eyes, and fainted.....

* * *

* * *

::Useless, bloody fool. Of all the-:: Ganondorf's thoughts were cut of abruptly when a communication portal announced itself brightly in the nighttime air. "What is it, you blundering idiot?" he snapped, as he wiped away the other portal, through which he'd just seen the desired girl drop to inevitable doom. ::Of all the idiots I have to choose!::  
  
"One of the black kargoroks lower down managed to catch her on it's back, your worshipfulness," Aghanim said meekly, mewing his words like a frightened kitten. "What would you like to be done with her now?"  
  
::There's a few things I can think of,:: he thought with a smirk, which the sorcerer picked up on.  
  
"Apart from _that_," he said, imitating the smirk with one of his own. Ganondorf was then able to remember just why this boy – well, man now, had been his chosen apprentice. He remembered just why he had taken so much trouble and effort to call him from the sacred realm, before his voice was lost. "Shall I hold her under a sleeping spell until you're ready to see her?"  
  
"That would be most – splendid," Ganondorf decided after a few short moments of thought. "I'll send for her when I've managed to retake the dratted fortress. No doubt not all will be happy to see me return, after Nabooru's little freedom run."  
  
"Aye – the traitorous wench," Ganondorf was pleased to see his sorcerer's face curl in fury at the very mention of the name. "In due time then, worshipfulness?"  
  
"In due time," Ganondorf agreed, and he used his hand to dissipate the magical communication. ::Goddesses, it feels good to be called that again.:: Looking up, he could see the shadowy outline of the fortress before him. ::Now to see what's happened to _my_ race since I've been away.:: He hurried forth, face set in a seemingly un-removable smirk.

* * *

* * *

_The vampire advanced on me, fangs bared in eager anticipation. I swore, loudly, and the sound reverberated around the ice-cavern. How many times did I have to come back to Vyxennia before all these demon creatures would go away? It was beginning to get ridiculous now – the first time I'd been, I had been a mere thirteen – now I was twenty one, and back, yet again.  
  
A large pool of blood had already formed around me, trailing backwards for a distance farther than my eyes could see. The ability to walk had escaped me a long time ago, and I had been dragging myself forwards with numb hands for hours. As I knew was bound to happen, sooner or later, one of the vampires had followed my blood trail, all the way to me. Her fingers were tainted with my blood, and she casually flicked out a cat-like tongue to taste it, watching me with amused eyes.  
  
"Hello, little immortal – having a spot of trouble, are we?" she purred, already trying to induce a state of hypnosis on me. In my weakened state, I actually seemed less prone to it, rather than more. With an annoyed flick of my wrist, I succeeded in sending a ray of UV light from the watch-like contraption around my wrist. She recoiled, hissing, and looked at her hand, once pale, now burnt black. She glared at me, and then launched towards me.  
  
"Fuck!"_   
  
I sat up with a start, and the ground beneath me gave way, sending me tumbling downwards – I stopped abruptly on a hard surface, and groaned. [Where am I? Navi, are you there?] There was no answer. With trepidation, I opened my eyes, and promptly shut them again. [I didn't just see that. I didn't. I can't have.] But I had – I did. I opened my eyes to see whether I truly had gone insane, half-hoping...  
  
"Fuck!" I repeated the phrase from the dream, and backed up against...whatever I'd just fallen from. The Stalfos looked down at me with empty eye-sockets, and tilted its scarcely attached head to one side, where it flopped precariously. Then, seeming to realise I wasn't posing it any current threat, it returned to standing to attention, and looking straight forwards. Naturally, I reached around for my sword – before remembering that Sheik had knocked it from my hands.  
  
A quick search informed me that I had no weapons to speak of – and a small test told me I wouldn't be using magic for a _long_ time. The un-focused magic had completely drained me.  
  
If I couldn't escape right now, the least I could do was plan an escape for later. Slowly, I stood up again, and I carefully retook my place on what I now realised was a bed. The Stalfos didn't seem interested at all, so I looked around the room boldly, taking in the rich fabrics all around me, and the gold leafing that seemed to adorn every available surface. [This looks very upper class indeed.]  
  
How by demons had I managed to get here in the first place? The last thing I could remember was being dropped by that black kargorok and blacking out and – oh dear. Something suddenly clicked in my mind, and I went over to the window I'd only just noticed, which was in the wall farthest away from the Stalfos and the door. Looking out, my suspicions were immediately confirmed, as I saw the Castle Town stretching away down below, and turrets and towers in the peripheral vision that the window allowed.  
  
I was in the palace. Which meant, whilst I was probably no more than a few hundred yards away from Link, I wouldn't be able to get any help from him whatsoever. [How frustrating!] I banged my forehead against the windowpane, and growled in annoyance.  
  
"You shouldn't do that you know," a silky voice pervaded the air, gaining access to every nook and cranny, and using the acoustics of the room to swell and boom into a rich, fruity sweetness. And, only one breed could ever speak like that. Turning around, I had to reign myself from swearing loudly at the black-robed man standing before me. "You might very well break the glass, and that could pose a nasty fall."  
  
"Nastier than the one your kargorok gave me?" I asked mockingly. He brushed off the insulting tone, and looked abashed,  
  
"Well, really, the poor creature was stunned by the weather. It wasn't its fault."  
  
"In the same way that it wasn't your fault that so many Sheikah died or fled Hyrule?"  
  
"If they wanted turf-wars, who was I to refuse?" his eyes twinkled dangerously, and I reigned myself further, deciding to pin him with a stare and dare him to open his mouth again. He rose to the challenge immediately. "I trust you've slept well?"  
  
"Well enough," I answered shortly. "Where are my things?"  
  
"Ah – well, I had to confiscate them, or else they might have proved hazardous to my staff," he signalled to the Stalfos by the door. "And I like to ensure that my staff have a safe working environment at all times."  
  
"How very – noble – of you."  
  
"You think so?" he grinned a dazzling smile, that bought me to a conclusion that Hyrule was an incredibly cruel and contrary world. Most of the time, those of the darker, less attractive side of life, seemed to hold more vitality and beauty than those on my side.  
  
[Bloody annoying. Especially when you haven't had a lover for God knows how long – wait a minute – where did that come from?] I was startled at myself, and didn't realise until too late that the sorcerer had taken a step closer, and was staring down at me intently.  
  
"You have a fever."  
  
"No I do-"  
  
"Yes you do. And you shouldn't be up. His worshipfulness ordered it – and now I can understand just why." At my age, I could recognise the flash of lust on his face, and wondered whether I could use it to my advantage. But, before I even had the chance, a ball of blinding light formed directly in front of my face, blinding me. "Goddesses!" Aghanim exclaimed, backing away – I did too, ramming myself into the window alcove.  
  
"Aghanim!" I knew that voice – oh, how I knew that voice.  
  
"Worshipfulness?"  
  
"She should be asleep."  
  
"Yes. Sorry."  
  
"You're lucky I like you enough not to let that offence annoy me too much. Now, if you please." Aghanim nodded, and I tried to duck out of the alcove and make my escape – the Stalfos wasn't moving at all, and the door was so close and – I tripped over the large rug on the floor. This spectacular foul-up on my part, led to the sorcerer grabbing me by the scruff of the neck, and then lightly touching my temple – I was out like a light.

* * *

* * *

::The fool's lucky I was in a good mood:: Ganondorf thought, looking down on the destruction he'd caused already in the few short hours he'd been back at the fortress. Within a day or two, he'd have regained control of the place, and he would soon after be able to start waging his war on Hyrule. The cursed land that had tried to deny him his right to power.  
  
::Not for very much longer.:: Feeling bored, he conjured up an image of the girl. She was, as ordered, now sound asleep, and looked for all the world just as she had those many years ago – perhaps a little careworn, but otherwise unscathed by the years. Something stirred deep within him; something greater and more profound than the instinctive _want_ to have her. The emotion was quashed almost immediately, as yet another Gerudo woman, less than willing to give in, attempted to throw herself into a heroic battle with him.  
  
He flicked her away like an annoying insect, and carried on in his inspection of her. Alexis. Oh, how long and hard he had had to torture just for a name... ::I wonder whether Ayesha's descendants will be quite so good at the torturing business:: he wondered briefly, casting his mind back to the 'good old days'. How distant they seemed – how hazy and fuzzy and yet so damned tangible. He could almost reach out and-  
  
"Worshipfulness?" a tremulous feminine voice shattered the vision of _her_ into a thousand tiny wisps of nothingness. He cast his eyes towards her, and was startled to see a quite living, breathing replica of the very woman he'd just been thinking of, standing right there before him. To warn her not to try anything, he held a ball of dark magic suspended casually between his hands. "Worshipfulness?" she repeated, her eyes filled with sudden wonder. "So it's true – you have returned."  
  
::How very observant of you,:: he wanted to say, but instead he nodded, keeping his mystique to maximum. She clapped her hands delightedly, an action that caused one eyebrow to creep diligently up his forehead, and reside there for a long while. ::...Interesting...::

* * *

* * *

I was prodded hard on the shoulder by a sharp finger, and I raised a hand in order to bat it away. However, the prodder was persistent, and I, as the prodee, had to concede, and awaken. When I opened my eyes, it was to find David's face staring down at me, upside-down. Confused, [I'm sure I was just – I mean – what?] I sat up, and looked around. And realised that this was nothing more than a dream meeting.  
  
I was in David and Loki's private rose-garden (which they had only commissioned two years ago now.) Already, the flowers had matured, under the careful magical tending of the gardener and David combined. Heavy blooms weighed down the rosebushes, and the air was heavy with their scent. I had never been quite so happy to see the place in all my life as I was now. David and Loki would help, of that I was sure. And I needed help...most definitely.  
  
"I see you're in a spot of bother, little one?" David said shrewdly, adding another prod for good measure.  
  
"You could say that," I agreed, grimacing as the full implication of the events of the past [Oh demons, how many days?]  
  
"Nearly two now," David answered my unspoken question. "And if you weren't wondering how many days you've been out, that made little sense," he grinned.  
  
"I swear, you and Loki get weirder by the day."  
  
"It's more than likely. Now, speaking of Loki," he pivoted around, and the gust of air from his great wings as he did so ruffled my hair. "Loki! Hurry up, will you?" Loki appeared from nowhere (as people are wont to do in dream-meetings), carrying a vial of some vile-looking green liquid. "Is that it? Isn't it meant to be...a less vibrant colour?"  
  
"I couldn't find any mountain spring water to mix it with, so I had to use the salt stuff," he explained, waving the vial about in an agitated manner.  
  
"...care to explain...?" I queried, reminding them that I was still there.  
  
"Ah – well, technically, we're doing something ever so slightly illegal," David said, whirling around again and smiling the sweetest smile he could manage.  
  
"Yes...well, you two seem to do that quite a lot." I said, raising an eyebrow. "What is it this time?"  
  
"Well, since it's really all Sheik's fault that you lost your sword and were thus kidnapped by a giant birdie," Loki grinned as David said this, "we decided to turn his hair green."  
  
"And you bought me here to tell me that?" I said flatly, disbelieving.  
  
"Oh – no, not just that," Loki cut in. "This potion, when you drink it, will bring you out of the sleeping spell on you in Hyrule. And then, well, we've took the liberty of sending another warrior in to get your weapons, and magic them back to you."  
  
"Seriously?"  
  
"Seriously," he said. "And, if anyone finds out, both David and I will be royally stuffed."  
  
"Me? I had nothing to do with it," David said airily, and he popped out of sight.  
  
"Coward," Loki muttered, still with a smile on his face. "But, he's right – I must go. Here," he pressed the vial into my palm. "And don't you dare say again I never do anything for you!" With that, he was gone, and I marvelled at the way he had changed over the past twelve years. Before, he's been a rather law-abiding citizen, but now...  
  
[David's having an awful affect on him!] I couldn't help it – I started to laugh out loud at this, and it was only a warning thunderclap (who sent it, I don't know) that reminded me of what I was supposed to be doing. I looked at the disconcertingly green potion, which seemed to glowing slightly within the glass container. With trepidation, I removed the stopper, and then put my eye over the top, to get a better look.  
  
The smell was worse though. I wafted it under my nose, and then physically recoiled from the stench. [Have to do this, have to damned well do it.] I pinched my poor, suffering nose, and swallowed it at once – the sensation was like a multiple slug race going down my throat, and it was all I could do not to spit it back out. Slowly, caterpillars of grey and black wriggled across my vision, and they had a brief tournament for power, before the black caterpillars finally won, and obliterated the scene around me.

* * *

I woke up slowly, forcing myself out of the dream-spell and into the land of the waking. Before daring to sit up, I pretended to shift in sleep, and turned my head to the side. Through squinted lashes, I peered towards the door. It was no longer guarded. [Thank the demons for that.] I could have whooped for joy, but managed to contain myself – my weapons, I found, as promised, on the table beside me. However, I still lacked my sword – I would just have to do without it then...  
  
Carefully, I sat up, and reached out for my weapons – the coverlet that had lain over me slipped onto the floor, and I registered a terrifying fact. [I'm...naked?] I grabbed the silk sheet hastily, and wrapped it around myself in a panic. [Where by demons are my clothes?] I searched the room swiftly, but only managed to find a long, and completely unsuitable dress (of bright green velvet), as well as some under-garments, in the whole room. "Oh..." I groaned, returning to the dress. "This isn't going to make this any easier!" I felt like throwing something very large across the room, but as it would no doubt alert people to the fact that I was awake, I stopped myself.  
  
"Now what do I do?" I wondered aloud, sitting back down on the bed. My daggers glinted in the light of the sun, which was pouring through the one window of the room. Looking at them gave me an idea, and I went back over to the dress once again – naturally, it looked to be about my size – I was probably supposed to wear it when I came out of the sleeping spell... I lifted it off of its hanger, and bought it back over to the bed, where I lay it down flat.  
  
Then, taking up one of my daggers, I set about butchering the beautiful fabric. After all, it would be much easier to move around in something with a short skirt, rather than one that trailed underfoot. Every few seconds, I'd stop and listen, to see whether the ripping sounds the fabric made had been heard. And every time that I found out they hadn't, I felt jubilation surge through me. [Really, what is it with 'evil' and stupidity? They seem to go hand in hand so well...]  
  
Finally, the dress's skirt had been completely decimated, and the frayed edges would probably settle at around knee-length. I retrieved the under- garments (which I realised, thankfully, were my own), and slipped them on, before also donning the dress. Whilst it would give me manoeuvrability, it would be a bitch trying to get around without being seen in such a bright colour. [But, if I can just make it to Link's part of the castle before being caught, then maybe...] I wasn't really sure what would happen, only that I had to get out of here before he arrived.  
  
I didn't want to see _him_ ever again. It would be...too...difficult.  
  
Grabbing my dagger belt, I fastened it around my waist, and clipped the long shot into it – those were the only weapons the other warrior seemed to have retrieved, so I then made my way over to the window. There was no latch whatsoever, so I had to take up a small wooden stool that sat before a dressing mirror in order to break the glass. [Please don't hear me, please don't!] I prayed, as I drew the stool back, and then rammed it as hard as I could against the window. It didn't shatter, and my arms jarred terribly.  
  
I tried again, and then on the third try, managed to achieve my goal. Sure that I must have been heard by now, I squeezed myself out of the window, not caring about the jagged edges of the glass that cut through both skin and cloth like a knife through butter. Looking down, I could see the ground was a dizzyingly long way down, and I took out my long shot, knowing that I would probably need it.  
  
Peering around, I could make out a balcony-like protrusion on the outer wall, and decided to make that my point of travel. There was just the small problem of how to get there...whilst it was only about twenty feet down, it was also twenty feet to the left of the window in which I sat. [The long shot's chain is sixty feet, so maybe if I swing...] I quickly did some calculations, realised how incredibly risky what I was going to do was, decided that I didn't care, and sent the sharp tip of the long shot into the wood of the window sill.  
  
After looking down once more, to see whether there were any guards wandering about (which luckily, there weren't), I pressed the trigger which would allow the chain out of the long shot. As it slowly did this, I sat down properly on the window ledge, and dangled my legs over. Long shot held in my right hand, I used my left to tuck my unruly hair firmly behind my ears. Then, biting my tongue as I did so, I let myself drop, and was stopped abruptly when I came to the end of the current length of the chain.  
  
Then, I waited for it to slowly let out more length, until I was just slightly below the level of the balcony. Transferring all of my weight onto just one arm, I used my left to push myself along the wall – by doing this a few times, I managed to set up a pendulum motion. As I did this, I also let out a few more yards of chain, so that the arc I made bought me closer and closer to my destination.  
  
One final swing, and I clicked the other button on the long shot, which was the release mechanism for the hook – instead of continuing my arc, I flew diagonally upwards, and over the balcony rail, before gravity remembered what it was meant to do, and bought me crashing down on the stone surface. "Ow..." I rolled over, somewhat dazed, and looked up into a familiar pair of eyes, which were full of concern.  
  
"Bl- sorry, Alexis? What in Goddess' name are you doing on my balcony?"  
  
"Link, I – I mean we're – us – Hyrule – is in very big trouble," I babbled, unsure of my wording. "Hide me!" I said suddenly, fearing that Aghanim might find me gone any second and see me gone. "Please, for the love of all things holy, hide me!"  
  
"Hide you from what?" Link gestured out to the day, which was clear, bright, and completely un-menacing. "And I already knew Hyrule was in trouble – it seems you're the one with memory loss, not old me," he chuckled, and the merry sound turned into a brittle fit of coughs.  
  
"Grandfather? How many times, you're not supposed to go outsi- oh my! It's you!" Both of us looked towards the glass doors that led onto the balcony, to see Melissa standing there with a look of shock on her face. "Wait a minute – is that one of _my_ dresses?" I looked down at the dress; the edge that I had cut had managed to fray even more during the last couple of minutes of activity.  
  
"Please, can we just go inside?" I begged, managing to heave myself off of the floor. Link, taken aback, nodded, and Melissa, with her mouth agape, stood out of the way of the door to let us inside, and then closed it behind us.  
  
"Grandfather – what's going on?" she asked, as soon as she had pulled the latch of the door into place.  
  
"Nothing, my dear one," Link assured her, and she looked sceptical.  
  
"Nothing indeed, when a woman whom I met at the ranch turns up on your balcony wearing my dress. Oh yes, this sort of thing happens every day, doesn't it?" She threw her hands up in the air, and then placed them on her hips. "Explain, now, or will I have to go and get father?"  
  
Link held up his hands in defeat, "All right, all right. Just calm down!" She dropped her angered stance, and nodded for him to continue. "Melissa, this is Alexis – Alexis, this is Melissa, my granddaughter. Apparently you've already met."  
  
"Hang on, you said your name was – oh," comprehension dawned on her face.  
  
"Exactly. And, you'll now understand how I know her. What she was doing on my balcony, not even I know." Link turned to me with twinkling eyes. "Care to explain old friend?"  
  
"About the dress as well, if you please. I've been looking for it for days now."  
  
"I, um, in a nut-shell, was kidnapped by a certain court sorcerer," Melissa gasped, and Link hushed her with a stern look. "And I made my way to the balcony, as it was the closest one to the room I was put into."  
  
"Hang on – do you mean to say you just climbed the walls?" Melissa asked.  
  
"When you put it like that – yes."  
  
"You're kidding!"  
  
"Not at all."  
  
"Wow – that must have been so cool, I have to try-"  
  
"Granddaughter," Link said warningly, and she stopped mid sentence. "This is quite a problem...if you're found here, Aghanim will go to Thelia, and will no doubt complain...and our station here is already hanging by a thread after a certain somebody," he looked at his granddaughter as he said this, and she blushed guiltily, "decided to paint the royal carriage orange."  
  
"It was drab," she said as way of defence.  
  
"It was also a very silly colour to choose – why not green, green's nice."  
  
"Uh..." I interrupted, and they both looked at me. "I really need to get out of here, with all due respect..."  
  
"Of course...and you really need some new clothes, no doubt?" Link said shrewdly. I nodded. "All right – Melissa, do you have anything spare that Alexis can borrow?"  
  
"Probably; what about my riding tunic – that's pretty much the same design as her old clothes were."  
  
"That would be splendid. Go and get them now dear." She hurried out of the room, but stopped at the door.  
  
"Let me guess – 'not a word to anyone'?" she said with a grin, and Link nodded. Then, she closed the door behind her, and I returned my gaze to Link.  
  
"You always did have a knack of getting into trouble," he mused with a soft smile. I just nodded in agreement. "Since you're here, would you care for something to eat?" My stomach answered for me by rumbling loudly, and he pointed me over to a platter of fruits that lay on his bedside table. "New this morning."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"Not at all. How are you and Sheik getting along?"  
  
"Terribly."  
  
"I meant with the mission."  
  
"Oh..." I blushed deeply. "All right – we've managed to get the girl to a safe place. And..." I trailed off, wondering whether to go ahead.  
  
"And?"  
  
"And we also managed to find the lady Impa and Saria in the shadow temple."  
  
"Indeed?" I could hear the surprise in his voice. "Any – anyone else?" he asked hopefully.  
  
"Aye...a certain flying light bulb called Navi." I turned around just in time to see a look of absolute joy cross Link's face. "I thought that'd cheer you up!"  
  
"You thought right then! How is she – does she want to see me?"  
  
"Of course she does! As soon as she can – in fact, I think when I get back to them, I'll make sure to send her to you."  
  
"What, in a bottle?" I snorted at the image, and he tittered. Taking an apple from the fruit bowl (after having perused the many fruits within), I finally went back over to my old friend.  
  
"How do you propose to get me out then?" I asked, completely turning the conversation.  
  
"Hmm? Oh, that'll be easy," he said, waving a hand vaguely. "I've some Deku- nuts lying around here somewhere – I can't use them anymore, but I bet you can." I nodded. "Good... Of course, you can stay for a little while if you want," he wheedled, but I had to shake my head.  
  
"I'm sorry, I can't...Sheik might do something..."  
  
"Stupid?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Oh... all right. I understand, of course. But, if you ever want to come back..."  
  
"I'll drop in whenever it's possible," I assured him. "Look, I really think you should probably leave the castle," I said in a rushed undertone. "I've just got this feeling..."  
  
"I cannot – my people need me to be here," he said firmly.  
  
"But what if?"  
  
"_If_ he arrives, then I shall flee as you've asked. If he doesn't, then there is no harm in me staying."  
  
"Link, please, I just-"  
  
"Grandfather?" there was a knock on the door, and then Melissa burst in, holding a bundle of brown and grey cloth. "Found them – but you might want to hurry up, because I saw Thelia and Aghanim strolling along, and they're bound to come in and see you." She came over to me, and pressed the clothes into my hands. "Good luck with whatever adventure you're on." Then, she placed a kiss on Link's forehead, and hurried out again, shutting the door behind her.  
  
"I'll just go and..."  
  
"Of course – the Deku-nuts are in the second drawer of the dresser in the bathroom."  
  
"Thank you." After a brief thought, I repeated the action of his granddaughter, and kissed him on the forehead. He took my hands, and squeezed them gently between his own. "Please – just think about leaving, even if it's only for a little while."  
  
"No. Now, good luck." He let go, and I hurried into the bathroom. It was only a matter of half a minute to get changed into the clothes (a brown tunic and grey slacks), and then I rummaged around in the second drawer of the dresser, until I found a softly glowing bag. I took it out, and withdrew one of the shining things.  
  
The sound of movement in the next room alerted me that I was _ever_ so close to being discovered again, so I held the bag of magical things in my left hand, and the Deku-nut I'd taken out, I dropped onto the floor. Thinking of the mountain-camp, I felt myself whisked away. [You'd best keep yourself safe Link. Demons only know what's going to happen now.]

* * *

* * *

_Bleurgh. That was horribly written. I'm so sorry! Don't leave a review, because there are many things I did horribly there. Yuck. Next chapter will be better, I promise.  
  
This chapter – in all its yuckiness (I'm sorry!) – is nonetheless dedicated to:  
  
H7 (naturally), InnocentEyes159, Lossemare, SkySong, amaya, and of course, kizna1200, who's review was the thing that spurned me into writing this. (As well as the angst. Hooray for the inspirational angst).  
  
Soda [oh God, so horribly written – yuck!] _


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